Ander Herrera: The Truth About Leaving Man Utd, Jose vs Pogba & Playing With Messi, Neymar & Mbappé

0:00Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

0:37You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. and you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash start now. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

1:20Man United is rock and roll I realised the first day I arrived to the club That attack, attack, attack is in the DNA of the club And I'm sure Mike knows it I am sitting down with an all-action midfielder Who's played with one of the greatest ever forward lines Ander Herrera has played with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe How many balls losses he had in training? Zero It was crazy Leo every single day. It was something unbelievable. In Manchester, he was alongside the likes of Rooney, Pogba, Carrick and Zlatan. And he was like, I cannot play with these guys. They are so bad. I am in another level. You are a disaster.

2:03You all of you are a disaster. And I say to him, Zlatan, you also lose the ball. And he say, I get infected by you. He has always answered for everything. So I want to find out what that period was like for him. But my heart was broken. I said to Ed Woodward, couldn't you have come to me to talk? And get some insight into those two dressing rooms full of superstars. I don't know because of egos. It was because the price that Man United paid for him and the expectations that Mourinho had, it didn't work.

2:38Ando. Hello, Rio. How are you? Hey, my guy. How are you doing? All good, thank you. And you? I'm good, my friend. I'm good, I'm good. I'm just here, all set up, ready and waiting for you. So it's good. I appreciate you coming on, man. Pleasure for me. I'm so happy to be here with you and to have this opportunity. Bro, you're 37 years old. You still look 21, man. What's happening? What cream are you using? What's the cream? I got some Botox, you know. No, no. Everyone says the same. I try to protect my skin from the sun. That's the secret. You sound like my wife. Thank you. You are based in Dubai now, no?

3:16Yeah, I'm in Dubai. Yeah, I'm here. Good life there, right? Yeah, it's good. You know who lives next to me? Andres Eniesta. Good guy, very good guy. I was with him a couple of times with the national team and fantastic guy. Xavi is similar. Oh, Xavi. He controlled the tempo every time. Oh, he's a joke. And Busquets. Busquets. It was crazy. I remember. I remember the final. You remember at Wembley, I think? Bro, why are you trying to kill me? No, no, no. I mean... No, no, no, not... But I mean, that game, they were unbelievable. They absolutely killed us. They killed us, man. But listen, this is about you, man.

3:59Zaragoza, Bilbao, Man United, PSG, Boca Juniors. Back to Zaragoza. like whoa this is like is this the dream ending for you the way it's gone absolutely probably in the most difficult moment of our history third division first time in 75 years and and i wanted to come back here and i wanted to to help to try to to come back to to to professional at least to professional football yeah and this is like you like you said this is your boyhood club where you started, where you're from. But also, I think one of the great things about it, and it says a lot about you, is that you're playing for free. You're donating all your wages back to the club.

4:40This is amazing. What made you do this? How did it come to this? I have a lot to thank to this club, to these people, because without Real Zaragoza, I would probably never have been a professional player. And now, in a difficult moment of the club, I think we all, with the fans, we have the responsibility to help the team and the club. And I feel so proud of my career. I feel so proud about what I have achieved in terms of football and also in terms of money. So I don't need it. I wanted to play for free. I wanted to help for free. at home, my city where I grew up and hopefully, as I told you before helping the club to come back to professional football Yeah, and it's crazy, in a world where Man City have these charges hanging over their head it's so good to hear about a gesture like this still in the game of football But I think we also have to give something back to football, you know and I wanted to do this because I am not only a professional football player, I am also a football fan and I love what I do.

5:57And one day, probably soon, when I am retired, I want to feel proud of what I have done during my career. I want to take you back to joining Manchester United. I think a lot of the comments that we have are about you at the club and the affinity that the fans and you have together. But to take you back to the beginning, What were the attributes that you had that you felt you could bring to a club like Man United when you signed there? We faced each other. You remember in Europa League against United. You beat us, man. You beat us. The second game in Bilbao, you guys were amazing. That was the first time we met, you and me, after the game.

6:34And we were... Remember? My English was not great, but I think we had a nice conversation. And you told me about what Manchester United... I knew already, but I wanted to know a little bit more. And probably after that tie, both games, also in Old Trafford, I have already said a few times that I realized how big United was. Old Trafford, you know, that aura that Manchester United have, that impact in all the players that go to Old Trafford. And that stayed in my mind. I didn't know that a few months later Manchester United were trying to sign me. The first year they couldn't do it because Athletic Club asked for the clause and United ended up signing Fellaini.

7:28And the next year, after another great season at Bilbao, then Manchester United came. So United was already on my mind after that tie. I remember Old Trafford made some impact on myself. When you go to United, first thing I have to learn from players like Wayne, like Robin Van Persie was there as well, Antonio Valencia was there, Michael Curry was there. So first of all, I wanted to learn. I wanted to get as much as possible from them to become or to deserve to be a Manchester United player. And it was something quick, I think. I got that connection with the fans, with the club, even with my teammates.

8:18It was quick. It was... Before, I would have never dreamed that I was going to adapt as fast as I did to the club. Just on that adapting to the club and adapting to the players, I read somewhere that Waza learned Spanish swear words to fire you up and to communicate with you in Spanish. Is that true? Yeah, that's true. Wasa was a top guy, very funny. You know, I had some English concepts, but when I listened to Wasa, I didn't know if that was the English that I have learned before. You know what I mean? So it was because he used to swear after the games a few things that I couldn't understand at the beginning, you know?

9:03But I have always tried to adapt to all the places that I have been and to try to communicate as soon as possible. So I remember once when he was in a good mood because when he was in a bad mood, it was better to go away from him. But when he was in a good mood, I used to ask him what he was saying before, you know, and he was teaching me also some bad words and I used to do the same in Spanish. And he was okay in Spanish as well. Yeah, okay. Better Spanish than English. I couldn't even understand him and I'm English. I don't want to say that, but his English sometimes was difficult for me, honestly.

9:43You know what? Chicharito said something very similar to what you said. We had him on the show before. He said, when you go to a new club, like come to Manchester United, intelligence and adaptability are two of the most important things. And you said very similar today about joining Manchester United. Absolutely. For me, first, it doesn't matter what you have done before. United is a new world. and all that you have done before is like, okay, you must be happy because you have achieved that level to sign for Manchester United, but life starts when you arrive to United. Be humble, and then in three, four, five months, maybe you deserve to wear that shirt, but in the first three, four months, you have to listen, shut up, train hard, and try to get as much information as possible to become a Manchester United player.

10:41And you know what? You joined in the same year that me, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Everard, Darren Fletcher and Danny Welbeck left. You left. I played against you my first year and you were in QPR. Yeah, QPR. Yeah. I was dead. I couldn't move. Did you sense that the club was a little bit unsure of itself in this period, like a transitional period because they lost so many experience, players at that time. What was it like in the dressing room then? Always when you lose a few experience and very important players and very successful players as you, Nemanja, Giggs a couple of years before, I guess even for Wayne, it was difficult to lose some teammates that they have won everything together.

11:31And also for the people who made decisions at the club. It's not easy to lose players like you guys, you know, and have to replace them. And also competing with other clubs like Man City, like Tottenham, that they were also able to bring important players to the clubs, to their clubs. So, I think my time at United, five years, it was a good time. Of course, we didn't win the Premier League. That was the objective for the club. We won some trophies, but not the Premier League. After we will discuss if we deserve that Premier League because of what happened with Man City. I'm also waiting for my middle as well.

12:16So you can have one and I can have another one as well. You can have another one, right? Or two? I get one and you can have one. I don't know if we deserve the trophy but for sure they don't deserve to win it. If we want to respect, if the Premier League want to keep being respected all around the world, they have to do something. They cannot be blind in this. I don't know if you will agree with me, but if I was a Man City player, I would be angry with my owners. I would be angry with my board, you know, because they have put all that I have done during these years in doubt. You know what I mean?

12:53Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm 100 % agreeing with you. 100%. But let's talk about the midfield that you were part of at Manchester United. I'll get on to Carrick after, but Paul Pogba. What did he give when you were alongside him? What was he like to play alongside? How good was he? He was the best, in terms of qualities, the best midfielders I have played with. The best. The best by far. He can head the ball. He can win the ball. He can run with the ball. He can run without the ball. he can recover a lot of balls he can score he can attack he was faster than the opponents he was stronger he had everything maybe you saw him or you shared with him when he was younger but you could see those qualities that he was unbelievable but in football I have been made a lot of times this question why Pogba didn't work at United I have no idea.

13:53When I spoke to Paul on a Rio Meets episode before, he said, look at Kevin De Bruyne. He always played in the same position. He knew where he was going to be every week. And I think Paul felt he never got that. He thought he was playing in different positions all the time and maybe not his best position all the time, to be able to produce his best form consistently. Probably. Probably I agree with what he said. But I also think because he had so many qualities, he could have adapted to any position. Let's think about Sergio Busquets. We all agree that Busquets only can play as a number six. But Pogba could have played any position on the pitch because he had those qualities to play everywhere.

14:40That's why sometimes I think why Paul didn't work or didn't work as good as we all expected at the club. I have no answer. I respect what he said, but because of his qualities, I cannot find an answer because he could have played as number six, as number 10, number eight. Even in a 4-4-2, he could play in both sides, you know, in midfield. So no answer. He was there when the big problem between Jose and Pogba happened. Was you aware of the tension between the two of them? And was it there to see in the changing room? I don't know because of egos. I don't know if it was because the price that Man United paid for him and the expectations that Mourinho had.

15:29Maybe, I'm not sure, maybe Mourinho was not as patient as Pogba needed. but it didn't work. It didn't work. Both sides tried. I cannot say that one of them said, no, we are finished, because both sides tried. I remember one game when everything exploded. You remember about that story that Pogba posted on Instagram and Mourinho thought it was during the game when we were losing a game. And Paul told us the next day, Paul told us that he posted at the beginning of the game, but that story was downloaded when he got connection and the connection he got after 30 or 40 minutes of the game. You know what I mean?

16:15Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was misunderstood, it's in English, right? Yes. Between them, but I think it was too late to get back together. Do you know what? Jose was really interesting to me because a quote while you was there, I think it goes down in history as one of the best quotes I heard. Despite within like 25 titles at the time, his quote was, finishing second was one of my greatest achievements because people don't know what's going on behind the scenes. And everyone thought he was crazy. Everyone was like, who's this guy? He's trying to make himself look good. But after years, it just got truer and truer, that quote.

16:55Like what was going on behind the scenes there that made that quote so truthful? He's a little bit like the Simpsons, you know? All the things that he has said. happen in the future, you know? And it's true, it's true. When he said that, he used to talk to us that it was not normal. It was not normal that Man City could sign four defenders like this, you know, after De Bruyne, or Gundogan and this player, and after six months in the club, if a player didn't work, bring another one, you know? He was angry with that, and he was right. But you say that, you still won three trophies when you were at United, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League.

17:39So was that about right when you consider everything that was going on with City? You've done a good job if you look at it like that. If you add a Premier League to these four trophies that I won when I was there, the film changed. You know what I mean? Another midfielder you played with, Michael Carrick, who's now the manager. You played four seasons with him, yeah? And I read a quote that you said about him. He has so much charisma. He knows what to say in any moment. Did you smell manager vibes before or not? Absolutely. He was one of those players that after you end up your career, you make a list of 20 players that you have learned and you have some things to keep teaching to new players and Mike was one of them.

18:25So I'm so happy for him. Hopefully he can win few games to give him some calm and also to the fans but I wish him the best because as a guy, as a captain and as a manager I think he's top top. What do you make of the job that Michael's doing now as the manager at Manchester United? You said about hopefully he can fix some things during this window. What do you feel needs fixing? We have to give him time because as I told you before, Premier League that I found was not the same Premier League that you found. And Michael, when he got in charge, the Premier League now is not top four, top five. It's almost top eight, you know.

19:08So now I think we have to give time to the coaches, to the managers, to build something, to create something. And I think Carrick is the man. I want him to be the man, but I also believe he is the man. To bring trophies to the club, to bring... I don't know if he will win the Premier League in two, three years, but he is going to be there. He is going to be competing. I'm sure of that. I don't know if you saw, but the team were criticised a lot for walking. What do you think of that? You play midfield, you're an aggressive player. Have you stayed there and waited and understand when sometimes you walk more than you would be pressing?

19:48Man United is rock and roll. I realised the first day I arrived to the club. The fans are not the same fans as Arsenal or as Man City. They are not that patient, you know? You remember when we used to have the ball with Van Gaal? That attack, attack, attack. It's in the DNA of the club. It's in the DNA of the club, and I'm sure Mike knows it. How quickly did you realise and did you understand that demand from the fans, especially when you mentioned that attack, attack, attack? I'll never forget that. If we were passing too much and it was too slow, they would start, attack, attack, attack. Absolutely.

20:23It was like, whoa. How quick was it for you to understand them demands of these fans? I think quite quick. You know, when you are at Atol Trafford and you see the people are yelling when there is a contract tag, you can feel there is something special with contract tags at Atol Trafford. There is something special with transitions. Something that Ole brought when I was there after Mourinho was that. first meeting he said Man United is about transitions, it's about defending, attacking, defending, attacking we are not a possession club you know what I mean? and I think we had I don't know, 15 games in a row we won or something like this or we lost just one of his first 15 games and we did it doing that you know?

21:15This is when I said Oli's at the wheel sign the deal Exactly. Exactly. After that run of results. And you can feel it quick. If I go to Man United one day, if I become a coach, a manager, I go to Man United, I will try to be a different coach probably than if I am a Barcelona coach. You know what I mean? Because the DNA of the club is different. They don't mind if they receive if they receive two or three chances and De Gea save two or three balls. They don't mind. If you do the same after. You know what I mean? So it's something in the DNA. And probably if you go to Barcelona or to Man City, I will not go to Man City, just to make it clear, but if I do, the philosophy is different.

22:08You know? Is it more important to be a good tactical coach, which Jose and Louis van Gaal are, absolutely, or is it to understand the DNA of Manchester United more important, do you think? For me, you have to understand the DNA of the club that you're going, for sure. Real Madrid fans, they accept if you are waiting in a low block and contra-attacking, but Barcelona fans, they don't accept that, you know? Yeah, it's true. And you can be a great coach in both places, but you have to adapt, in my opinion, to the DNA of each club. That's what I think. Just to go back to that, the current midfielders and the current team, and you played midfield, you was a very combative midfielder, up against people, high energy.

22:58Who would you love to have played alongside in this current midfield now? For me, Bruno. For me, Bruno. I have a huge, huge respect and I look up to him. He's younger than me, but I look up to him for me he is a leader he has had Man United in his back a lot of years, a lot of seasons sometimes playing I'm not going to say alone but carry the history of the club at his shoulders difficult times he was there always putting his face there difficult moments always asking the ball, scoring goals, assisting, after the feats, going there to the media to talk. Huge respect for him. I would have loved to play with him.

23:53And as you know, Juan is one of my best friends in football. And they have great relationships. And what I know from Juan is that he is a top, top, top guy. and what I watch from TV I have a huge respect for him for what he has done for the club and he could have left the club and he's still there putting his face in difficult moments and he deserves credit a lot of credit You talk about the DNA and I think Bruno is probably one of the best examples in the last five or six years of players who understand the DNA of the club taking risks attacking, running, etc Absolutely And getting some criticism sometimes that, in my opinion, he doesn't deserve.

24:44Because of his quality, he could have three or four Champions League, you know? And he has stayed there thinking about the club and about what Manchester United means for him. It's crazy because in this time you had some people saying, Bruno is the problem and stuff like this. How can Bruno be the problem? He has been the solution a lot of times. Just you know what, another thing when I was looking at your time there, you were there when the emergence of Marcus Rashford and Antti Martial. How exciting was it for you to be a part of seeing these two young guys come through and the hope they must have given you when you first saw them?

25:23I'm going to tell you something that I have never said, but with Juan we used to discuss who was better. Juan thought Anthony had more potential to be one of the best in the world. And I thought Marcus was going to be one of the best players in the world. The quality of Anthony was amazing. But I saw one thing that he didn't like too much the criticism from the coach. He was not so happy when any manager used to criticize him in front of his teammates, you know. That doesn't allow you to improve and to make the next step, you know. Something that I would say to new players is accept the criticism, listen, don't take it personally because it's not and try to listen and get as much as you can because that is going to make you a better player and Marcus I thought it was going to be top 3 top 5 10-12 years he hasn't been he has been a great player but he wasn't that how do you say that constant, maybe?

26:49Consistent. Consistent, sorry. Consistent. I want to know your opinion as well about that time when both exploded, who you think was going to be better? Yeah, it's crazy you say that because I spoke to Juan Matar, who you mentioned before, and Michael Carrick about Anthony Martial. And they both said this guy, if he wanted to, he could be the Ballon d 'Or winner, this guy, he's that good. And I was like, whoa, because like you say, the consistency was up and down a little bit, but if it clicks, this guy is unstoppable. He was a very good guy. He was a very good kid.

27:33Very easy to talk with, humble, respectful. but at the same time when coaches used to to push him in front of everyone he didn't accept that in a good way you know what I mean? And you have to you're a player you need to take the criticism it's part of it Of course I think it's part of it and I remember a few times Jose or every manager that I have had in my career when he had killed me in front of everyone, I have never taken personally. I'm not a world-class player, but I have had an amazing career and I'm so proud of my career. And one of the things that I am proud of is this, the way I have taken the correction of my coaches, the criticism of my coaches, even from my teammates, you know, I have always taken in a good way and I have always thought that they do it because they want me to perform better.

28:42In terms of Jose killing players, you said he used to kill players. Did he used to do it hard or was it more with humour and making fun of people maybe a little bit? He comes from a football where, and you too, and I am there in the limit where the players have started to have the skin too soft, you know? You come from a football that after the game used to be normal even to fight in the dressing room. You know? I come also from a football when I was 18, 19 and an older player comes to me and kills me in front of everyone. And I had to accept it. And I have always said that Mourinho comes from that football and it was difficult for him to change the way he faces those moments, you know, because with the new generations you have to be very careful.

29:43It's not a criticism, it's a reality. The way the coaches used to go to you after the game 15 or 20 years ago is not the same way they can go to young players. Are you agree with me? 100%. And it was difficult for Jose to adapt to those new generations. I think he's doing it now. He's doing it great. That's why he's at Real Madrid. Otherwise, he couldn't be there. I had a captain, Ayala, you know, the Argentinian? The Argentinian captain, Fabian Ayala. Ayala. Roberto Ayala. He was my captain here at Zaragoza. And after two or three games, he came to me to tell me that I was doing shit in front of everyone.

30:22and you know and instead of I don't want to talk to him next day probably I went to him Fabian what can I do to help the team you know what are you expecting from him to improve and I think that's the way that's the only way I find to to make the steps and to improve as a player right man we've got loads still to come right on this pod but we'll be back shortly after this

30:53Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments.

31:31You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality licensed therapists across the U.S. offering both virtual and in-person sessions nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. and you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash start now. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

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33:37character and personality is. What's it like when someone like that comes into the dressing room? It was an impact for everyone and for Wassa as well. I'm sure of that. They respect each other a lot. They have a good relationship. He made a great impact. First game at Wembley, he scored with a bicycle kick against Leicester that season. And I think they work together quite well. They work together quite well because they respect each other. And respect is always important. It's always important. Absolutely. You mentioned, we've spoken about Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho. Another manager you played under, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

34:18And you spoke very, very good about him also. Do you feel, when you look back now, if time has gone, that maybe they got rid of Solskjaer maybe too early? Yes, I think so. I really liked Ole. I think he was, he's one of the most honest persons that I have met in my career. He was very sincere, but at the same time, he knows how to do it, how to get into your heart, into your mind. He's a great, great, great person. I think he was the right man at the club. Same as I think now with Michael. I think the two things that both of those guys have in common is the ability to communicate with different generations.

35:03He knew how to do it. He was very smart. You said that about Michael can talk and he can communicate, the same with Oli. I think Casemiro said as well on one of the shows we've done on Carrick, yes, he killed us, but he did it with class. Absolutely agree. Absolutely agree. You know, when he came to the club, you remember the relationship between Jose, Marcus, Anthony, Paul was not the best at that time. and Ole brought that new air to the young players and they started performing unbelievable. I remember they played amazing those games that we were winning in a row. How was Ole as a player? Because most of the games, I remember when I was almost a kid, he was not a bench player, but he was not a start in every game, right?

36:02I think the thing with Oli is one of the biggest or the couple of things with him I think is biggest attributes. Obviously, his finishing was like top class. He used to do it in training as well with the strikers. I remember. Crazy. But I will say two things. His humility put him on another level because to be scoring the goals he did and still accept being on the bench is something that not many players could do this. That's a good example to give to young players. You can still impact the game even if you're on the bench. So don't lose faith, don't lose confidence. But also, as well, his intelligence was undeniable.

36:44To come on a pitch like he did so many times and impact the game is not luck. I am sure when he was on the bench, he was reading the game. that's something that I said in my current club in Real Zaragoza that's something that I repeat a lot to the players that are on the bench read the game because nowadays even more than when Ole was a player five substitutions can change the game and if you are reading the game you get into the pitch with some advantage you know to your opponent Don't be on the bench just watching the game like a fan, you know? I'm sure Ole did that. Yeah, 100%. And you know what as well?

37:32A lot of people won't remember, but they all think about Ole as a centre-forward. He played for a number of years right wing. He played right wing and he used to, against the best left-back, defensive left-back, I fought in the world for a period of time, Ashley Cole. Ashley Cole, yeah. He was the first player I used to see always give him a hard game. And Ashley Cole never liked playing against him because it was an example of somebody like Oli who understood the game. Absolutely. It was unexpected in the role. Adaptability. Adaptability as well. What the team needs. When I got to United, I remember, United signed me as a number 10 because I was performing really well at Bilbao as a number 10.

38:14But you know, I have said a lot of times, I am at United. Number 10 has to score at least 10-15 goals. I'm not going to score that amount of goals because that was impossible for me. What can I do to deserve a place in the team? And I saw number 8, number 6. Exactly what you are saying about Ole. Probably Dwight, Jorke, who were the strikers? Jorke and Cole, that time that you were telling... No, no, before it was Jorke and Cole. this time it was Van Nistelrooy and Rooney. Rooney and Van Nistelrooy, those top, top strikers. So what can I do to help the team? Probably I'm not going to play as a number 10 or number 9 because those monsters play.

39:00Where is a space that I can play? And that says it all about Ole. The intelligence, the adaptability, humility, as you said. I love that. Just moving on to Paris Saint-Germain and you moved there, but as you moved there, you know what, I spoke to a lot of fans at the time and a lot of the fans were very kind of, well their affinity with you was so so clear and a lot of players that leave the club especially around that time didn't get that with the fans, but you did. How sad were you to leave the club and was it your decision to leave or the clubs? I have already said that 100 times. It is very easy.

39:44After my third season, when I got, I think you cannot see it, but I have here the Player of the Year award. When I won that award, I expected the club to come to me. You know, I was, I say to my agent, whatever they offer is going to be okay. I'm going to sign because I want to stay at United. I'm so happy. So every week I was on holiday. Did they call you? No, Ander, they didn't call me. Next week, did they call you? No, they didn't call me. So pre-season, let's wait. And let's wait if the pre-season between the third and my third and my fourth season, let's see if they come. They didn't come.

40:27The season starts. I started playing. They didn't come. So I started to feel, you know, sad. sad because I thought I deserved to be to get a new contract and it was not about money of course I wanted to improve my salary because I think I had I had deserved but they didn't even come to me you know what I mean and I remember what killed me is when they sent me that letter we are going to renew automatically your your fifth season at the club because I had four plus one. You remember? They used to sign like this. They didn't even call me to say, Ander, we want you to stay. They sent me a letter.

41:12So it killed me. Absolutely. You know, I was there so happy, always trying to bring the team together, everyone together, giving everything for the club, trying to represent the club as good as I could everywhere, loving my time in the city, in the training ground every day at Carrington. And when I received that letter, I said no. You know? And I thought, I said to my agent, I'm done. If I have another offer from other places, let's listen. So between the fourth and the fifth season, then they came. You know? And it was too late. It was too late because my heart was already a little bit, you know how you say it?

42:05Yeah, broken. Broken, you know, because I didn't want to make a story about it because I didn't feel that important. You know, I didn't deserve to be on the papers. I prefer to get in silence, trying to perform, trying to play as good as I could. But my heart was broken because I think at least I say to Ed, to Ed Woodward, nothing personal with him. I have a huge respect for him. He did a great job at the club in some areas. But I say to him, Ed, do you think I deserve to be sent a letter? Couldn't you have come to me to talk? And I say, yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry. And I say, now the situation has changed.

42:55If you want me to sign, the situation is a new situation. I think I have been clear with my explanation, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, very clear. And you know what? It reminds me a little bit of, in my day, Carlos Tevez. He was a principal. What you're saying is about your principals. You're going to respect me and tell me the right way and let's communicate on the right level. The club could have come to me in that third season and say to me, Ander, we love you. we want you to stay just give us time you know but they didn't do it so Ole tried me to try me to stay but I said to Ole what happened and he understood he understood the situation absolutely you ended up in Paris Saint-Germain you know what and it's it's an unbelievable time really because you've got the talent that you have there you've gone from having Zlatan from Rooney Carrick and these guys who are great players but then you go to a club that has a forward line in the modern game of Mbappe, Neymar and Messi.

44:00Now, what is that like? Just tell us. There's not many players that have played behind those three. What was that like when you was walking out of the changing room with those three in front of you? You forgot Di Maria as well. I was going to come on to him after. Don't worry. Those four monsters. Did they give you the confidence? I was lucky to play with Cristiano, Rooney, Tevez. Berbatov, Luis Aja, okay? Five great strikers. And I always say that when I walked out of the dressing room, the confidence that I had is like, as long as we do our jobs here, those guys are going to win us the game.

44:36Was that the feeling you had with them three or four guys you had in front of you? Absolutely. I also had a great relationship with them. That helps a lot. I think I have the empathy to know because the stars are stars, as you know. and sometimes you have to give them space as you said before if I do my job they are going to make me better so for example with Mbappé I knew if I put the ball between the keeper and the defender he's going to score for me and he's going to give me some assists at the end of the year and with Messi or with Neymar they want you to give them the ball and to be there behind them just in case they need you to give it back to you.

45:24You know, if you try to do more than what you have to do, then you are making mistakes. But if you know where is the limit and what you have to do to make them enjoy football, I think it's easy to play with them. No, no, I 100 % agree. But just on them a bit more detail, how different were their individual super strengths? like just explain to me like this dude when you're that close to these individuals like what what was so great about each of them individuals like Neymar or Mbappe or Messi I said once to Pochettino I said once to Pochettino I wouldn't have come to Paris huge respect for him I love him as he's he I have a great relationship with him but it's so difficult to to to be at the level of them, what they demand in every moment, what they ask for, what they need, the training sessions that they need to feel good.

46:30For example, I love if I am a coach, I love I will love to do tactical work. But you have to consider that probably you cannot do too much. You know what I mean? Imagine if I'm not going to say names, okay? Imagine if number one of the stars the weekend scored two goals, but the number two of the stars didn't score. You have to behave different with one and with another one, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you go to the one that scored a couple of goals the weekend and you hug him, you know the other one is going to be watching. you know what I mean Rio was it like an impossible job to manage that dressing room with such big players not impossible because you can see what Ancelotti has done at Real Madrid with the stars with Cristiano, with Bale, with Benzema with Sergio Ramos so you have to find the right person to to deal with it you know I guess if Wayne when you were at United or Cristiano didn't have a good day it's not easy to go on Monday to talk to them and how to act with any of them what do you think about it if you are there you know yeah yeah it is a difficult situation but sometimes it's knowing you have to know the individual how far you can push them how far, what you can say on the given day.

48:17Because Wayne, you would treat Wayne very different to Cristiano. Like Wayne, you could go to him on Monday after a bad game and say, oh, I watched the highlights. You were terrible, man. What happened? And laugh. He could laugh, no? And he could laugh and he could go, but then he would remember it for the next game. And he would go, oh, you saw me today. Imagine if you go to Cristiano and you say that. But if we go to Cristiano, I think it's different. When Cristiano was young, you could say this. When he was at United, you could do this with him. But I think as he got older and more senior, I would argue that he wouldn't take kindly to that.

48:56He would be like, well, because his competitive energy became like, he needed that. He was like, who are you talking to? No, no, no, don't speak to me. I think he would be more like that as he got older. Let's talk about what Luis Enrique has done at PSG. He got rid of stars because he knew it could be a problem for him. And look what he has done. Two Champions League in a row. Phenomenal. He's been great. Just on those three players, you played with them. Out of those three players, who gave you the most joy when you played with them? You thought, oh my God, I've never seen anything like this.

49:33Of course, Leo. Leo for me is, Messi for me is something that we are not going to watch again. That's what I think. But not only in games, every single training session, I could count how many balls losses he had in training, zero. In the box, you say rondo, or how do you say it? It's a box, no, in England? Yeah, a box rondo, yeah. Not once in the middle. That means he never lost the ball. It was crazy. Neymar, you knew he could have some days that he was not very connected in training, but in the game he was going to perform. But Leo, every single day, it was something unbelievable. That's why he's still like this.

50:18He's still there. You saw the World Cup. He could be participating during the game, but after 75 minutes, give him the ball. I'm going to win the game. 39 years old. Unbelievable. And Kilian was... Kilian physically is a superhero. he played the ball to his right and you cannot even close to him something crazy and during the game going into the spaces I've never seen something like this and in terms of magic Neymar Neymar made you enjoy football every day made you go home with a smile remember what he has done what this guy has done in training or in the game it was something unique. I feel a privilege to have been able to play with those players.

51:13Same with Wassa, with Van Persie. I remember the finishing of Robin in training. Right, left, right, left, facing the goal, backing the goal. Zlatan, the way he used to hold the ball, impossible to move him. Sergio Ramos, the winning character every single training session. I feel so proud to have been able to play with those guys. You mentioned a player before who we've not spoken about, Di Maria. He was at Man United. It didn't work out for Man United. When you saw him at PSG, obviously you saw what a great player he was. Did you guys ever speak about the experience at Man United and why it didn't work for him?

51:53He's a good friend. We as a couple, me and my wife and he and his wife, we used to argue a lot about our Manchester time. They have an opposite perspective of their time. I remember the first couple of months he was great. You remember? Yeah, the goal and everything. Everything. A lot of assists, goals, playing right, left. But I don't remember when something changed with Bengal. I think after one game he lost too many times the ball. Bengal killed him in front of everyone. and then Di Maria changed, you know, because he said to me, if there is someone in the team that has to lose the ball, it's me, and I agree with him, you know.

52:47Probably Carrick, Herrera, Blin, Mata,

52:56we shouldn't lose the ball, but Di Maria was the one who had to take risks. And after that discussion in front of everyone, I remember watching the game, he was quite aggressive with Angel. Not personally, as I told you before, but in football terms. And something changed in Di Maria's mind. And after that he got robbed, you remember? He had a... Yeah, his house. At his house. Then they became very negative about everything. and it is sad because he could have been great for the club. The way he started, the way he was performing and I think he was one of those players with United DNA, you know, because his game was a chaos.

53:44Take the ball, attack, run back, win the ball, attack and we lost an amazing Di Maria for probably three, four, five years at the club. Just lastly on PSG, before Pochettino was there, another manager, you played with Tuchel, Thomas Tuchel, who is now an England manager. He's always impressed me when I've met him, how clear he is with his approach, with the DNA he wants to put into his team. Was that what you experienced when you were under him as a player? When I was running out of contract at United, January or something like this, he called me, he said to me that he wanted me at PSG, he wanted team players who could help the stars to perform, as I told you before.

54:31I told him that I thought I was the right player. And it was great, my time with him. He made me play a lot of games as a number six, even as a right back, three, four players. Because PSG had a lot of control of the ball and he wanted me to play on the right back to have one more midfielder on the team. I improved a lot. I almost win the Champions League with him so we were very close to do it we won a lot of trophies together and what I'm going to tell you is something that I have said to my friends after the World Cup I could not recognize what he did against Argentina Wow in what sense? because of the coach that I had when I was at PSG because of the person that I knew when I was there, because of the instructions that he used to give us during the games, half times.

55:34I was watching the game and I saw him put out two strikers and he came in a couple of defenders. This is not the two hell that I knew. He wants to be protagonist. He wants the ball. the best way to defend for him was having the ball and having the possession and playing with the line high even with Thiago Silva and Marquinhos Thiago Silva is one of the smartest players that I have played with but he was not the fastest and he wanted him to play high with the line almost in the midfielder and when I was watching the game I said, what is happening? you know he's going to he's going to lose the game by doing by doing what he hasn't done doing has with his career you know and that that's one of the reasons why i was so surprised in the world cup because when i've spoken to tomo suko he's been one of the most clear transparent uh he's always talking about being the one to dictate how the game is going to go and try and control things in the game.

56:43And it was like he'd done the opposite of that in that one moment in the whole of the World Cup. And obviously it backfired. But I just hope that he will learn. I think he's the type of guy who... He's going to become a better manager, I'm sure. And just before we go, we have one thing. All the players do this. They give us their best five-a-side players that they played with. We don't use goalkeepers because goalkeepers are not real footballers. So David De Gea and this guy... No, I cannot put David. He's gonna kill me. So no goalkeeper. I know. No goalkeepers. They're not footballers. They're not real.

57:17The best players you played with, five of them. Zlatan. Messi.

57:27Neymar. Oh, this could be the best team ever, you know. Probably Sergio Ramos as well. I think Kylian is in my team. And first substitution, Wayne. Oh, wow. That is an unbelievable team. This team could be the best team we've had, you know. It could be the best. So we had Zlatan. Zlatan, Leo, Neymar, Mbappé, Sergio Ramos. Not bad, eh? Wow. I think this could be the best team. And I played with them. Unbelievable.

58:04Wow. Have you got anything about Zlatan? The way that he played with you, so you're in training, that he's done something or you go, oh my, I didn't know he was this good. I just remember once we were doing this exercise, you know, three squares. And in the middle is the defending team. You get three players, try to steal the ball. And if they don't steal it, you have to play to the other square, you know? And he was on my team. So we were losing the ball. One, two, losses, three. And he was fucking. I cannot play with these guys. They are so bad. I am in another level. you are a disaster you all of you are a disaster and I was so angry I was saying fucking hell this guy never never takes responsibility so next ball he misses the pass and I say to him Zlatan you also lose the ball and he say because I get I get I don't know how you say in English infected I get infected by you how you say something like this because you guys are so bad and you're infected you are so bad but I am I am not at your level So it was funny.

59:10He had always answered for everything. For everything. So he was funny. But of course, his quality was something top, top, top. Well, listen, man. Ander, thank you so much, man. I really appreciate that. Loved catching up with you. Thank you very much. It has been a pleasure. No, no, definitely. If I come to this part of Spain, I'll definitely come and see you, man. Take in some more stories. I'm not too far from Madrid and Barcelona. So you are more than invited here. Okay, I appreciate it, my friend. Thank you so much. All the best. Thank you very much. Bye. Thank you. Great career and love your work at United as well, man.

59:45Thank you.

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