Ex-United star: Winning wasn’t focus, club too ‘commercial’

Nemanja Matic has aimed a dig at Manchester United and claimed winning was not a priority during his time at Old Trafford.

Matic, 36, currently plies his trade for Lyon and is set to come up against his former club in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash on Thursday night.

The Serbian midfielder played 189 times for the Red Devils between 2017 and 2022 after joining from Chelsea for £40million.

Upon his arrival from Stamford Bridge - where he had won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup and EFL Cup - Matic was viewed as a statement signing as he reunited with Mourinho.

However, despite reaching the latter stages of several cups, which included losing the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal in 2021, Matic failed to win a trophy under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

The 36-year-old left for Roma on a free transfer in 2022 without achieving the desired success, but was largely viewed as a solid and reliable option for the Red Devils.

And, speaking to The Athletic, Matic has opened up on the contrast between his time at Chelsea and United - and claimed he didn't feel the environment at Old Trafford was focused on achieving success.

'The difference I felt after Chelsea was that, at Chelsea, everything was about the result and winning trophies,' he said. 'That was the spirit in the whole club, even from the man who cuts the grass.

'(Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich would only ask us about results. At United, it was more commercial-minded. I started to think that after a couple of months in the club.

'I understand that our salary needs to be paid, but I felt that the results were not the focus like it was at Chelsea. I maybe did two commercial jobs at Chelsea, at United it was far more.'

United finished second, sixth, third, second and sixth in Matic's full five seasons, but never went past the Champions League quarter-final stage.

Matic's spell at Old Trafford also coincided with the unpopular period of Ed Woodward's tenure at the club as CEO.

While Woodward was said to treble value of United during his decade-long spell between 2012 to 2022, fans often criticised his decisions over player recruitment.

He was also accused of prioritising the club's commercial performance over success on the pitch, while he came under particularly heavy scrutiny for his role in the ill-fated European Super League project.

And Matic went on to outline how his determination to win trophies at United was hampered by the circumstances.

'I arrived at United with the anger to win trophies like I had at Chelsea, but step by step I started to feel that trophies were not the focus,' he added. 'Maybe I’m not right, but that was my feeling inside.'

Meanwhile, Matic has played 31 times for Lyon this season and is likely to start against the Red Devils on Thursday night.

The first leg takes place at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, before the return leg comes at Old Trafford next week.