Veron lifts lid on his time at Manchester United

Joe Williams

Juan Sebastian Veron has revealed what went wrong for him during his tricky spell at Manchester United.

The former Argentina international arrived at Old Trafford from Lazio in 2001 for a £28.1million fee.

However, his time in Manchester only lasted two years and 51 Premier League appearances before an even less fruitful spell at Chelsea.

“I don’t make excuses,” he told FourFourTwo.

“It was a new thing for me, even if I’ve always faced change with ease. My family was happy, I was happy.

“The real change was the physical aspect. I regard fitness training as a very important thing.

“I moved from a country with intense pre-season training to another where football matches are the only way they train. In England they play the whole year: Christmas, New Year, non-stop.

“The first six months I coped with it well – really well. But after December, it was very difficult for me to keep up.

“I would suffer from the lack of a fitness base, I wouldn’t be able to last the whole game, and I would pick up injuries.”