Sebastian Veron admits regret at quitting Man United

Argentina legend Juan Sebastian Veron has admitted his great regret at leaving Manchester United to join Chelsea.

The former midfielder arrived at Old Trafford in 2001 having signed for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side from Lazio with a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders.

But Veron struggled for consistency despite making a bright start at his new club and ended up joining the Blues in 2003.

He opened up on that decision, which he reflects was a mistake, telling FourFourTwo: ‘I felt that going to Chelsea could have been a good chance for me to get a longer sequence of matches, but I shouldn’t have gone there.

‘I don’t say that because of Chelsea, though. It’s nice to have a club wanting to sign you, excited that you can do something for them. To make an investment like that, the club has to believe in you and trust you.

‘I actually found it tougher to live in London than Manchester because I’m from La Plata, which is quite a small city. I wish I could have stayed at United longer, as I believe I could have done things differently.

‘If I’d stayed in Manchester, I think I would have had more continuity on the pitch.

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But he failed to break into the well established midfield of Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham with any real consistency.

Given more time to work under Ferguson, Veron feels he could have made the grade but confesses the lack of stability made life tough.