It never worked out for Memphis Depay at Old Trafford.
Manchester United signed Depay from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2015. He had been one of the best players in the Dutch top flight the previous season, impressed at the 2014 World Cup and was highly regarded by then-United manager Louis van Gaal.
However, apart from a few brief flashes of quality early in time at United, Depay struggled for form and was soon out of the first-team.
In a game against Newcastle United in August 2015, Depay lost possession 35 times. His stock was so low at the end of the campaign, he wasn’t even part of the FA Cup final squad.
The 23-year-old didn’t fare much better under Jose Mourinho. Depay featured just five times before being allowed joined Lyon in January.
Depay has said that the reason he is no longer at Old Trafford is because Mourinho didn’t rate him.
While that might seem obvious, it goes against what Mourinho said just before Dutch winger left the club. The United manager claimed that Depay had not been playing him because he wanted to leave in January.
However, Depay bears no grudges towards his former manager.
“I have no bitterness towards Mourinho,” he told beIN Sport.
“I did what I had to do in training. Of course, I didn’t understand his choices, but he was the boss. I had to accept those choices.
“I think I was not good enough for him. But it’s okay, I’m showing my quality here.”
Memphis Depay. What a strike 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/0de5kjVcFy
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 12, 2017
Depay has settled straight into life at Lyon, and even recently scored a goal from the half-way line for the French side. He has no regrets about leaving United and predicted he will “back to the top” again in his career.
He wasn’t really at the top before, but good luck to him.
“Leaving Manchester United? That was not complicated. I’m young, I need to play.
“When I think about the last time I played a whole 90 minutes before coming here, it was a year ago. It’s incredible.
“I’ll be back to the top and we’ll see what will happen.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ragcpdS8o
