Zoran Tosic's mind is going back to the sliding doors moment that ended his Manchester United career almost a decade ago.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Tosic was in a hotel with the Serbia team when he received a call from his agent.
'He said, "We have an offer from CSKA Moscow and we have to react quickly because otherwise they will find somebody else",' recalls Tosic. 'Then someone from United called and asked me to give my No 14 to Javier Hernandez. That was like a signal to me. When I was asked to give my number to some other player, I called my agent and said, "OK, I want to leave". Just like that.'
The man known affectionately as Bambi in Belgrade (the nickname derives from his favourite Serbian biscuit) is 32 now. Quite different to the raw but rated winger who joined United from Partizan for £7million at the age of 21 in 2009.
Tosic was supposed to make the move with his even younger team-mate, Adem Ljajic, but work permit issues meant that United abandoned the latter deal. Just 18 months after joining Partizan from his home team, Banat Zrenjanin, Tosic arrived in England alone.
He admits it would have been easier with Ljajic by his side and was grateful to his compatriot Nemanja Vidic for taking him under his wing. Having trained alone in Serbia during the mid-winter break, Tosic immediately felt the culture shock.
'When I went to United they were champions of Europe and England. When you see United now, we have to be honest that the team is not as strong as it was,' he says
'The Serbian league and Premier League are totally different worlds. When I was younger, I never went to the gym. I didn't know what the gym was. When I went to United, I saw that everyone went to the gym before or after training. Most players had a gym at home as well!
'In Serbia at that time, you came to training for an hour and a half, you finished and went home. But I saw Cristiano Ronaldo or Ryan Giggs, who was 36 at the time, come three hours before training and go to the gym. I wasn't ready to play for United in that moment.'
Even so, Tosic made his debut off the bench as a replacement for Ronaldo against Tottenham in the FA Cup 20 days after his arrival, one of only five appearances for United totalling 79 minutes.
There were plenty more games for the reserves under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Tosic doesn't feel he has a point to prove when he returns to Old Trafford tonight.
'I know they are not in the best moment,' he says. 'I want the club to be on top of the table, to win trophies, and hope they will soon get back to that position.
'At the beginning, Ole won so many games and I'm sad they're not doing well now. I hope he will find a solution to these problems. 'When I saw that we were going to play United, I wanted to show I can play at that level, but I never felt I have to show people that they made a mistake.'
Inevitably, Tosic went down as one of Sir Alex Ferguson's less successful signings, leaving Old Trafford for CSKA following a loan spell in Germany. He won the Russian title three times before returning to Partizan, where he picked up two titles in his first spell. He also played 76 times for his country.
Now a father of four, there is no bad feeling towards United.
'It's obvious I didn't get the chance but I'm not angry,' he says. Does he ever wonder how his career would have panned out if he'd made a different decision in that hotel room in South Africa?
Tosic breaks into a rueful smile. 'This is the only question which I am always thinking. If I had chosen to stay to fight to get the chance, I think at that moment I was really ready to play for United.
'What if I chose to stay and not go to Moscow? What would have happened? What if?'