Donny van de Beek left Manchester United in the summer to join Girona
Donny van de Beek left Manchester United in the summer to join Girona
Donny van de Beek pinpointed the knee injury he suffered in January 2023 as the pivotal moment that spelled the end of his Manchester United career.
The midfielder, who was acquired for £35m from Ajax back in September 2020 - a transfer initially hailed as a coup - struggled to secure a regular spot in the team under then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Despite the subsequent sacking of Solskjaer and the interim appointment of Ralf Rangnick, Van de Beek remained on the fringes of the first team, leading him to join Everton on a temporary loan deal.
The arrival of Erik ten Hag in spring 2022, who had previously managed Van de Beek during his most successful period, appeared to offer a fresh chance at United. The Dutch international saw some action during the autumn but failed to leave a lasting impression before an unfortunate injury sustained in United's 3-0 win over Bournemouth in January 2023 took him out for the rest of the season.
ALSO READ: Ratcliffe breaks silence on United ticket price hike
ALSO READ: The uncomfortable truth about Martinez's performances
With only 10 appearances across competitions before the injury, the incident felt like a final blow. Now with Girona who take on Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday, Van de Beek reflected on his stint at Manchester in a recent intrerview with The Athletic, expressing his initial optimism: "I think the start was quite good. When I played, I think in the start of the season, I did well, and then for different reasons... I don't know exactly but I didn't play.
"It's difficult to get to the heart of the painful spot, but that's what it is. I think that this can happen. In some places, it's clicking but sometimes, in other situations, it's not."
"I think it's for different reasons. But it's also football. It was tough. Normally in the second season, everything gets better for a lot of players. But I think it was also a difficult situation.
"I think the coach left [Solskjaer], and a new coach came in [Rangnick] and then it's always chaotic. You know it's not in a stable situation. So then... I went to Everton because of that."
Van de Beek, reflecting on his experiences at Old Trafford, said: "Yes, of course. I think it was quite unlucky because I played some more games, especially closer to the winter, and then I got injured. That was not easy. It was very bad timing.
"If you start to play a little bit more, then you can get the rhythm of everything. But that injury arrived, you need to restart again, you need to come up. There are new players coming in, and you start from the backseat again.
"It's difficult. I would say this was a key moment for me at Manchester United. In this period normally when you play, you get stronger and better. But I got this injury. That was tough.
"I think that for every player if you come from outside England, you always need to adapt. Maybe not every player, but a lot of players do because it's so, so different. There is so much high intensity, top teams and top players. And it's a beautiful league to play in, of course.
"I think the key moment was when I was playing some games and then I got a bad, bad injury. That was the moment for me to take it, but then I had this injury... and that was a game-changer."
Van de Beek added: "I had a good relationship with a lot of people there, so I could always talk with them and they would try to help me. But in the end, you need to do it yourself as a player."
Girona handed the midfielder a chance to resurrect his career: "What I say now is that I think I am in a new area, a new fresh chapter. I am in a good place, I think, in a club who plays very good football, which I think is important for me at this stage."