Ander Herrera is sad at the way Paris Saint-Germain won Ligue 1 and admits he never wanted to leave Manchester United.
Herrera says he had differences of opinion with the United board before walking out of Old Trafford to join French giants PSG as a free agent last summer.
And while the streets of Paris are paved with gold for the modern player, given PSG’s wealthy Qatari ownership, Herrera has been left deflated by how his first league season ended.
Like the Dutch Eredivisie, France’s Ligue 1 was abandoned before crunch matters could be resolved on the pitch because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Runaway-leaders PSG were declared champions, but it left a bittersweet taste for Spain midfielder Herrera.
He yearned for the first championship of his career to be a jubilant moment to share with teammates, in front of supporters.
“To be honest, I didn’t celebrate it,” Herrera told ESPN. “I love football but I love to play football and win trophies on the pitch.”
The former Athletic Bilbao player added: “I hope we can fight for the cup titles that we still have to play on the pitch with fans in the stadium and let’s see if we can also fight for the Champions League.
“To be honest, it’s quite sad to win my first league title like this.”
Herrera won the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League with United, but a five-year stay in Manchester brought no Premier League trophy success.
He spoke of enjoying “a great relationship” with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, but that was not enough to keep him in England.
Shortly after joining PSG, Herrera had explained there had been conflict between how he and United saw his future, prompting his decision to accept the offer from France.
Now, Herrera has indicated he was hoping to stay with the Red Devils.
“When I look back a year ago, my intention was not to leave Manchester United,” Herrera said.
The 30-year-old said it was not unusual for a player’s point of view to not match up to a club’s vision.
“I disagreed with some of the decisions they made but this happens in football,” he said. “It happens in every company.”