Former Manchester United midfielder Zoran Tosic has revealed how he felt overawed when he first arrived at the club — and explained why he didn't succeed.
The Serbian came to Old Trafford in January 2009, joining a United side that were European champions and failed to make an impact in his time at the club.
He left after a year and just two league appearances, joining Partizan Belgrade — who are the opponents for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United on Thursday.
Tosic revealed that he didn't think he could cope with the high level at United when he joined in with the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in training.
“I was put straight into the first-team squad and the levels were so high that it felt like another sport,” Tosic told The Athletic.
“It was very heavy for me in those first weeks in Manchester. The ball moved so quickly in training, the quality was top, top, level. Nobody lost the ball. Except me. I was trying my best but it wasn’t enough. This wasn’t the football I knew.
“I thought I could play for United but there was a reason I was not at their level. These players lived the football life at the top. Giggs was 36, Scholes 34. They trained at 200 per cent. They lived football 24 hours. It was a big surprise to me to see them do this, a big lesson. They were on bikes before training and in the gym after."
Tosic has won 76 caps for Serbia and enjoyed a productive time at CSKA Moscow between 2010 and 2017. Now 32, he's back at Partizan and could line up against United in the Europa League contest this week.
