Nemanja Matic takes swipe at Manchester United culture

Signed by Jose Mourinho, Nemanja Matic formed the base of Manchester United’s midfield for five years between 2017 and 2022 and was a more-than-reliable figure over that half-a-decade.

The rangy Serb offers a sense of expertise in the middle of the park when he arrived at Old Trafford and he was involved in that penalty shoot-out loss to Sevilla in the Europa League final.

By the point he moved to Manchester United, he was already a three-time Premier League winner (with Chelsea), though it’s not unfair to say that his athleticism was behind him.

Often used as a deep-lying playmaker rather than someone who could dot about the engine room, the ex-Benfica man was a decent player in a period of struggle.

All in all, he played 189 matches for United in his five-year spell and moved to AS Roma four years ago. He’s since played for Stade Rennais, Olympique Lyonnais and Sassuolo.

It’s a shame that a player who oozed such class and expertise left the club without any silverware to his name.

But that can largely be attributed to how the club have stagnated in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Ferguson, arguably the greatest manager in football history, retired from management in 2013 – and the club have suffered greatly since.

And Matic is the latest player to talk about how the club is struggling to return to its former glories.

Matic, now 37 years of age, recently spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport about his career – from his time playing under Jose Mourinho to what drives him to continue playing at the age of 37.

He was also asked about the reasons behind United’s downfall over the last decade or so.

Taking a swipe at the club’s ownership – namely the Glazer family – Matic insisted the owners and the expectations of the fans were not aligned.

“I think the owners weren’t in tune with the fans’ mentality and expectations. They were thinking too much about other things, like marketing,” he said.

When the club should’ve been investing in a tricky period, Matic believes they were more concerned with their outward appearance.

“Even us players spent two hours a week on marketing. Now, however, something has changed: Carrick was an excellent choice; they need to give him a couple of years to rebuild the team.”

The defensive midfielder, who has also played for the likes of Chelsea and AS Roma throughout his career, also added that pressure is another reason behind the club’s decline.

“The pressure,” he added. “It was hard for everyone to understand that United weren’t the richest team in England, nor the strongest.”

A club the size and stature of United can either make or break a player; and Matic claimed that some succumbed to what the fans expected of a player wearing the famous strip.

“I remember when I played there, and I’d pass the ball backwards to get from one flank to the other, people would grumble. And if Old Trafford grumbles, the young players can suffer.”

There have been a number of players who have left Manchester United and thrived – Scott McTominay being the prime example – and so maybe Matic has got a point.