'I knew I had to leave Man Utd after talk with manager - it was the worst'
'I knew I had to leave Man Utd after talk with manager - it was the worst'
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Louis Saha says he was forced to leave Manchester United after a frank conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson. The former France international, now 46, signed for the Red Devils from Fulham - United's opponents this evening (January 26) - midway through the 2003/04 season for a cool £12.4million. He spent the bulk of the next four-and-a-half years playing second fiddle to the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez in attack, but still managed to net a healthy 42 goals in 124 appearances - just 76 of which were starts.
The end came for Saha when he sat out the 2008 Champions League final. Two years earlier, he'd fluffed the chance to play in the World Cup final due to suspension, and vowed to never let an opportunity like that slip through his grasp again. But an ill-timed knee injury took the issue out of the striker's hands, leaving him devastated. "It was the worst," Saha told FourFourTwo in 2019. "I'd worked really hard to come back from injury, and I'd also learned from my mistake at the World Cup.".
Saha had started just 10 games all season, and the disappointment of missing the biggest game in club football compelled him to call his United tenure quits. "It was after missing that final that I talked to the manager and said, 'I need to leave'," he admitted.
