Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has opened up on his nightmare spell at Manchester United.
Zaha joined the Old Trafford outfit from Palace back in 2013 at the tender age of 20 after helping the Eagles earn promotion from the Championship. However, what he hoped would be the start of something special at Premier Leaguegiants United, turned into his toughest spell to date.
Zaha made just four appearances for United in his debut campaign before joining Cardiff on loan in January 2014. At the end of the season, the youngster was then loaned back to former club Palace before the switch was made permanent in 2015. He has now revealed that on top of the lack of chances, he found it very difficult living in Manchester as the club dictated his movements at such a young age.
‘I was dealing with this at 19,’ Zaha told Shortlist. ‘Living in Manchester by myself, nowhere near anyone else, because the club had a hold over where I lived. They hadn’t given me a car, like every other player [had]. Nothing. I’m living in this hell by myself, away from my family, and I thought, “If this doesn’t make me stronger, what will?”
‘When I was at United I had money, but I was still so down and depressed. People think your life’s different because you’ve got money, you’ve got fame, so they don’t treat you the same.’
Fast forward to the present day and Zaha is shining for Palace, almost single-handedly keeping them in the Premier League last season.