Tom Cleverley has admitted that the numerous criticisms levelled his way during his time at Manchester United played a part in him leaving the club.
The 25-year-old has joined Aston Villa on loan, with his Man U contract set to finish next summer. Speaking about the reasoning behind his departure to reporters, Cleverley addressed the elephant in the room that was the tremendous backlash he faced from United’s own supporters.
Cleverley said: “If any footballer gets a bit of stick off their own fans they are going to be hurt. Football is a game of opinions and you can’t please everyone.
“I am happy to get away from some of the negativity. Whenever you are not winning trophies at Man United the players are going to get some stick.
“With me being out of contract at the end of the year if I am being honest I don’t think I would play for the club again.”
Cleverley stated that though he believed he had played well prior to the current Premier League season, the club’s new manager Louis van Gaal didn’t appear to have any desire to keep him in a red shirt. The England international midfielder said: “Louis van Gaal was always straight with me. I had a fairly good pre-season where we won every game, but he has his own players.
“The manager made it fairly clear it wasn’t going to happen for me there.”
It seems that no love was lost between him and his fellow teammates, either, with there being no leaving party for Cleverley following the announcement that he would be moving away from the club. I wasn’t emotional or anything like that”, he added. “I didn’t get a chance to say many goodbyes. It is something I had prepared myself for.”
[Via Sky Sports]
Photo: Getty Images
