Nemanja Matic reveals Manchester United focused more on marketing than football

Nemanja Matic has witnessed a revitalisation of his career in Serie A at Sassuolo. The midfielder has now spoken to La Gazzetta dello Sport in a detailed interview, shining light on the problems at Manchester United.

The Serbian had a rather fruitful spell at Old Trafford. While it didnโ€™t really end in thhe most positive way, there were some positive moments earlier in his tenure.

He ended up joining Roma soon after, reuniting with ex-Manchester United and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho too.

During the chat with Gazzetta, he was asked about the reasons behind the Red Devilsโ€™ recent struggles.

He told: โ€œFirst of all, the pressure. It was hard for everyone to understand that United werenโ€™t the richest team in England, nor the strongest. I remember when I played there, and Iโ€™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.โ€

Matic also pointed out the ownership problems at Manchester United, revealing a higher emphasis on marketing than the sport itself.

โ€œThen I think the owners werenโ€™t in tune with the fansโ€™ mentality and expectations. They were thinking too much about other things, like marketing. Even us players spent two hours a week on marketing.โ€

The Sassuolo star also gave a vote of confidence to current Manchester United boss Michael Carrick.

He said: โ€œNow, however, something has changed: Carrick was an excellent choice; they need to give him a couple of years to rebuild the team.โ€

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Kaustubh Pandey โ€“ GIFN

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