Marouane Fellaini cried when he found out David Moyes had lost his job at Manchester United.
The Scot is about to celebrate his 1,000th game as a manager and the Belgian midfielder has revealed how difficult the news was to take when it was announced Moyes had been relieved of his duties in 2014.
“I was sad for him when he was sacked because I know how much he wanted to succeed,” Fellaini told The Athletic.
“If you asked all the players at Everton when they think of Moyes, they’ll say how much of a nice person he is.
“He brought me to England, then signed me for Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world. I can never say anything bad about him.
“I’ve said this since the beginning… if you give Moyes time, he will make a team. I’ve watched West Ham a few times this season. They’ve become a side that’s difficult to beat.
“If I’m honest, I cried when I found out Moyes lost his job at Manchester United. I thought he was going to stay for a long time.
“It was a sad day. I went to his office to say goodbye, before he said bye to everyone. I told him, ‘Good luck’. But it was a difficult time for me.
“Moyes is a top man, he has a big heart. That’s why maybe he didn’t succeed at Manchester United, because he’s too nice.
“He went to Spain, he went to Sunderland and then got the job at West Ham and saved them. Then they changed their manager but Moyes has shown what can happen when you let him build a team.”
There were not many tears shed in our household that night, as Moyes lost his job 10 months into a six-year deal, but he was always destined to fail in the Old Trafford hot seat.
As the successor to the greatest manager of all-time, Sir Alex Ferguson, Moyes had no ‘wow’ factor about him. He took a group of Premier League winners and left it impossible to finish inside the top four.
Moyes has since got his managerial career back on track at West Ham, with the Hammers fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the quarter-finals of the League Cup (after knocking out MUFC).
We wish him well…
SN’s verdict…
Fellaini sounds like he feels blessed to have been a Manchester United player – and he’s probably right – but Moyes granted him that wish when I doubt many others would have taken the plunge to bring him from Goodison Park.
So, that’s why you won’t get Fellaini saying anything bad about Moyes.
It’s a view that should be respected even if most are likely to disagree.