On Saturday 3 February, Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini (36) announced that he was putting his football boots on the shelf, in a post on Instagram.
The 36-year-old was a fixture in the Belgian national team for a long time, and has visited both Everton and Manchester United in the Premier League.
After impressing for David Moyes’ Everton for several seasons, the 194-centimeter-tall forward joined the old coach of Manchester United on “Deadline day” in 2013.
Mocked in England
Fellaini made a total of 177 appearances for the Red Devils between 2013 and 2019, scoring a total of 22 goals.
Tough debut season
If one were ever to use the saying “jump for Wirkola”, it is descriptive of what unfolded when Sir Alex Ferguson had singled out Scottish David Moyes as his successor after the 2012/13 season.
But the season turned out to be difficult for the man who had been given the big task of taking up the legacy of Ferguson. In April 2014, Moyes was sacked after losing 2-0 to old club Everton.
Ten months in the manager’s chair at “Drømmenes Teater” was the shortest period a permanent United coach had been head coach.
DUO: David Moyes and Marouane Fellaini joined the Manchester club from Everton. Photo: Matt West / REX / NTB
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In a recent episode of Manchester United’s official podcast, Fellaini talks about what he describes as the toughest season of his career.
– The first year at the club was quite frankly very difficult for me. I was the first signing after the Sir Alex Ferguson era and we had a poor season. It was a nightmare for a few months and the worst season of my career, Fellaini insists in the episode.
The right-handed midfielder only got twelve games from the start in Manchester.
Slaughtered in England
– Difficult mentally
The 36-year-old does not hide that taking the step from Everton to a big club like Manchester United was tough on the psyche.
– I played five good seasons at Everton, did things well and got a lot of respect. Then you go to a big club, and it’s difficult mentally, reveals the Belgian.
Manchester United hired Dutch coaching legend Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2014. It turned out to be a positive hire for the midfielder with the characteristic curly mane.
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Fellaini scored seven goals in 31 games in the season that followed. He would not blame Moyes, who was the man who “gave him the chance to play in England”.
In 2019, the right-footed midfielder left the club in favor of Chinese Shandong Taishan.
– I did everything I could, and I pushed myself to my best. You know, I never cheated. For me, that is the most important thing. All my former teammates respected me. I never had any problems with teammates or coaches. I gave everything, concludes the midfielder.
