Nemanja Matic is one of the few players in recent times to have played for both Chelsea and Manchester United. He has now shared one stark difference between his time at both clubs.
The Serbian revealed on YU Planet that players at Old Trafford would consistently turn up late for training. While those standards would never slip down in West London.
Dressing room environment affects a player’s performance
Matic enjoyed three-and-a-half solid seasons during his second stint at Chelsea, winning 2 Premier League titles. However, with the inclusion of N’golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas in the squad, he had become surplus to requirements.
He was snapped up by Manchester United in 2017. Despite five years at the Old Trafford, he never reached the same heights as he did at the Stamford Bridge. His own comments have now hinted at why that may have been.
He said: “At Chelsea, players acted professionally, they were punctual and were never late for training but at United it happened almost every day.”
Nemanja Matic on the difference between Chelsea and Manchester United
He further revealed: “Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and couple of other players.
“The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president. I put a sheet of paper up on the wall where I documented the names of individuals arriving late. During one particular season we collected around £75,000 in fines.”
It is clear that the standards at Manchester United have slipped in the last decade, with them not getting any better under current manager Erik ten Hag.
It will be a battle of under-performers when the Blues take-on the Red Devils in the midweek fixture. It’ll be interesting to see who will come out on top.
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