Former Manchester United defender Ashley Young has explained why he opted to depart Old Trafford in favour of a switch to Inter Milan during the 2020 January transfer window.
Young, 35, was signed to United by legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson from Aston Villa in 2011 in a deal worth £16.2m, as per Transfermarkt.
During the versatile Englishman’s nine-year spell at Old Trafford, Young went on to feature in over 260 matches and was directly involved in 62 goals, in all competitions.
Despite a largely successful spell with the Red Devils which saw the Englishman lift six major trophies, including the Premier League in the 2012-13 season, Young found himself fall out-of-favour under current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In light of his restricted playing-time as well as his expiring contract, Young found himself the subject of interest from Serie A giants Inter Milan.
After agreeing to a £1.53m switch 12-months ago, Young has gone on to play an integral part in Antonio Conte’s title charge.
Speaking to UEFA, as quoted by MEN, the 35-year-old has broken his silence on why he opted to leave United.
“Obviously being in England all my life, it was a totally different change,” Young said. “But it was an experience that I jumped at.
“It was an opportunity for me to go and play regularly.
“I spoke to Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and he said that I wasn’t going to play as much as I wanted to, and when you’re coming towards the end of your career you want to be playing as much as you can.
“I’m as fit as anyone and I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give.
“For me, age is nothing but a number. Ole said that he was going to bring younger players through and that I wasn’t going to have as many opportunities.
“When the opportunity arose to come to Inter, it was a no-brainer for me. I was like, ‘get me on the plane, get me out there. Get me signed on the dotted line’.
“I was just speaking to the manager and players that were here that I knew as well. It was a fantastic opportunity; a club that’s massive worldwide, one of the biggest teams in world football.”
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