“I never should have left Manchester United, it’s my one regret”

December 22, 2025 Oliver Obel

Juan Sebastián Verón’s Premier League spell is often remembered as a disappointment. Look closer, though, and it reflects a broader moment in English footballa league still learning how to absorb elite technical players arriving from abroad.

By the time Verón reached England, he had already proven himself in Italy. What followed was less a collapse in ability than a series of misalignments, some of which he would later acknowledge himself.

Why the signing made sense

Manchester United signed Verón from Lazio convinced they were buying a midfielder at his peak. Sir Alex Ferguson later said the fee reflected belief in the Argentine’s long-term value, calling him “a world-class, fantastic footballer with a vision of a game we can use,” in comments reported by Sky Sports.

Yet United’s midfield had little spare oxygen. Paul Scholes and Roy Keane dominated the centre, and the team’s 4-4-2 demanded positional discipline over expression. Verón was asked to adjust his instincts rather than impose them.

There were reminders of his quality a key goal in United’s dramatic comeback win over Tottenham among them but the adaptation never fully settled. Two seasons on, United chose to cash in.

The move that lingered

Chelsea offered a fresh start. Under Roman Abramovich, the club was beginning to assemble the kind of squad depth that would soon reshape English football. For Verón, though, the timing proved cruel.

Injuries intervened almost immediately. A serious back problem kept him out for months and stalled any momentum. Looking back in a 2019 interview cited by the Manchester Evening News, Verón said:

“At Chelsea, the reality is that I had very little time. I had a major back injury and I was out for practically six months. I was already thinking more about going back to Italy than staying there in England.”

What surprised many was where his regret settled. Speaking about his earlier exit from Manchester United, he added:

“With United, the truth is that there are few things, very few, that I regret. But one is to have left Manchester… I should have stayed.”

The decision, he suggested, was his. United had not forced the issue, and teammates believed persistence might have changed the outcome.

A record shaped by setbacks

Verón’s Chelsea career amounted to seven league appearances across two seasons, making his stint one of the club’s quieter miscalculations in the early Abramovich era.

Across both clubs, Transfermarkt data shows 13 goal contributions in 58 Premier League matches. For a player of his standing, the numbers look underwhelming. They also tell only part of the story.

Ferguson’s assessment

Ferguson later acknowledged that Verón’s best football came outside England. Reflecting on the midfielder’s time at Old Trafford, he told Sky Sports:

“Juan Veron was capable of exceptional football and was talented. But, at times, he found the Premiership a bit difficult. He was a European player and that was where we got our best form from him.”

The manager added that the eventual sale was driven by long-term planning, saying the overall package on offer was “too good to turn down.”

More lesson than failure

Verón’s Premier League chapter is not easily reduced to success or failure. It sits somewhere in between shaped by tactical demands, physical expectations, and decisions made before the full picture was clear.

In that sense, his regret is less about leaving Manchester United than about a league and a player crossing paths before either was fully ready for the other.

Sources: Manchester Evening News, Sky Sports, Transfermarkt, GiveMeSport