Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has expressed his deep disappointment over how the club handled his contract negotiations following an exceptional campaign. The 37-year-old Spaniard revealed that he felt heartbroken when the hierarchy failed to offer him a fresh deal after he was named the club’s Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season.
Herrera, who signed for the Red Devils from Athletic Club in the summer of 2014, had expected his performances to lead to an extension. Content with his life in Manchester, he had instructed his agent that he would accept any formal offer presented by the club. However, an extension never materialized. Speaking with Rio Ferdinand on theRio Meetsshow (via sportbible on Instagram), Herrera recounted how the situation unfolded and noted that he even confronted former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward directly regarding the club’s stance. However, things did not unfold as he had hoped and he never got his desired extension.
Over five seasons at Old Trafford, Herrera contributed 20 goals and 27 assists across 189 appearances in all competitions. Having failed to secure new terms, he eventually departed the club as a free agent in 2019 to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Manchester United continue to encounter difficulties in their current campaign, remaining winless in their last five matches overall. Midweek action saw Michael Carrick’s side suffer a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Domestically, the team resides in 13th place in the Premier League table with six points from six fixtures—recording one win, three draws, and two losses—and were knocked out of the EFL Cup in a 3-2 third-round defeat to Brighton on September 16 ahead of their upcoming league match against Leeds United this weekend. Manchester United now have a huge job to do to salvage their sinking ship and they must do it before it is too late.
