"Too late..." - Former Man Utd star reveals the club made huge error that convinced him to leave

Ashley Young says he left Manchester United after the club took too longer to offer him a new contract.

Young spent nine seasons at Old Trafford after joining United in a £17m move from Aston Villa in 2011.

He would go on to make 261 appearances for the club, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League during his time with the Red Devils.

Young eventually left to join Inter Milan in 2019 in a surprise move to Italian football.

He spent two seasons at San Siro, winning Serie A in his second campaign, before returning to English football with Villa in 2021.

Young is still going strong at the age of 37 and has made 17 appearances in all competitions for Villa this season.

Young: Man Utd left it too late

Reflecting on his departure from Manchester United in 2019, Young says he was keen to remain at Old Trafford but ran out of patience with the club after being offered regular first-team football at Inter.

"A contract offer was made," Young told The Telegraph.

"It was too late. I had made up my mind.

"How I saw it was, if United really wanted to keep me, they would have offered me a contract before the interest came in."

Young spoke fondly of his time at United and in particular working under Sir Alex Ferguson, revealing that there was one particular name players were banned from calling him.

"You can't say 'Fergie' either," Young said.

"That's not allowed. He's 'The Boss'. Just to let you know!"

Young says he feels fitter now than he was in his twenties, attributing his remarkable longevity to former Inter boss Antonio Conte, who is now in charge of Tottenham.

"Oh, he is intense," Young added.

"If you ask any player who has played under him - you either sink or swim. You have to be on board with him and want to work.

"He is going to test you. But if you can come through that test and you want to win and you want to succeed…"

Young added: "Age is nothing but a number.

"I look at other countries and in Italy the age of players is so much higher yet they are still playing for their national teams. It is not scrutinised.

"It is not looked upon as, 'He is too old'. In England age is a massive thing. If you are fit enough, I don't see it as a problem."

Topics: Ashley Young, Manchester United, Football, Premier League, Transfers

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan