Ben Foster opens up on why he hated 'every second' of his time playing for Man Utd

Ben Foster has revealed why he 'hated every second' of playing for Manchester United.

The former England international retired from professional football in August, after a short spell with Wrexham.

For the majority of his career, Foster was a Premier League goalkeeper, and had lengthy spells with Watford and West Brom.

He also received eight caps for England - a tally many believe should have been higher given his status as one of the Premier League's most consistent shot-stoppers.

Foster's first professional club was Stoke, but he never made a first team appearance for Sir Alex Ferguson's side before signing permanently for United in July 2005.

He spent five seasons at Old Trafford - the first two of those on loan at Watford - but despite making 23 appearances in all competitions, he could not dislodge Edwin van der Sar as the number one goalkeeper.

And while Ferguson commented that the club saw Foster as an eventual number one, the England international moved to Birmingham in 2010.

Foster has previously opened up about the challenges he faced as a player at United at that point in his career.

And speaking to talkSPORT, the 40-year-old went into more detail about exactly what went wrong at Old Trafford - and described how he developed 'imposter syndrome'.

He said: "It was at a time in my life, mid-20s, I look back at that person who played for United then, and it's not me.

"I was so wet behind the ears, I didn't understand how anything worked in life, really. But I did [feel imposter syndrome].

"I hated every second of it!" 😲

"I was petrified of making a mistake and what the world would say about it!" 😥

"I'd look at some of the big names around me and think how have I got here?" 😨

Ben Foster opens up about his impostor syndrome during his time at #MUFC. pic.twitter.com/9Lm4xMr5cQ

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 23, 2024

"I hated every second of it. I didn't enjoy it. I was nervous, I was petrified of making a mistake, petrified of what the outside world would say about it.

"That's a bad way to go about it. When you go into games thinking the worst, or fearing the worst, you're off to a bad start straight away.

"I'd look around at some of these big names behind me and think, 'How have I got here? How have I got here?'"