Morgan Schneiderlin scored one goal for Manchester United before moving on to Everton in January 2017
Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin says he jumped out of the Manchester United “boat” too quickly.
Schneiderlin played 47 times for United after joining from Southampton for £25m in 2015.
He left Old Trafford 18 months later after failing to impress new manager Jose Mourinho, who replaced Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2016.
Schneiderlin says he does not regret joining Everton but on reflection feels he was too hasty in quitting United.
“I wanted to do more and I had the capacity to do more,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Maybe I jumped out of the boat too quickly when I didn’t play for three months. When I look at other players having a great career at Manchester United, they all had a spell of four or five months when they didn’t play.”
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It took Schneiderlin some time to win over the Everton fans, too.
Many still feel the 29-year-old’s approach to the game is too negative, although manager Marco Silva is a fan given he put Schneiderlin in his starting line-up for six out of nine Premier League games so far.
The France international was banned for one of the other three after picking up a red card at Crystal Palace on 10 August and was ruled out of Saturday’s win against West Ham with a hamstring injury.
Schneiderlin feels the harsh assessment of his contribution comes from people who do not understand his role.
“That’s the perception of people and what they say but I would love to watch a game with them,” he said.
“If you are in midfield, you are 1-0 down and your team has run after the ball for a minute and I try a long pass and miss it, people might clap because it is an attacking move, but my team-mates might have to for another two minutes to get the ball back.
“If we are winning 1-0 and I make a short pass that allows the team to breathe, people think it is clever.
“Some people say I pass square but I don’t see it. Look at [Sergio] Busquets at Barcelona. I don’t compare myself to him but tell me the passes he does that I don’t? Because they win games everyone says he’s the cleverest midfielder in football. I don’t compare myself to Busquets.
“Football is about perception. You can play the same game but it will be analysed differently depending on whether you have won or lost.”
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By Simon Stone
BBC Sport
