Ravel Morrison has admitted that seeing Wayne Rooney say he was a 'country mile' better than Paul Pogba made him 'upset' that he could have 'got further.'
The former Manchester United academy prospect is one of the great lost talents of his generation and last week Rooney claimed he was better than current United star Pogba back when the pair were part of the FA Youth Cup winning squad together.
Morrison is now on loan at Middlesbrough from Sheffield United and admitted that the comments from Rooney did leave him feeling upset.
Advert
"Obviously they're amazing comments, especially from the player he is; he's probably one of the best ever to come out of England, if not THE best," Morrison told talkSPORT.
"But it makes you a bit upset as well, because I could have gone a bit further, I should have gone a bit further and I'm still hoping to go further.
"I knew I had ability, but I didn't realise and understand these players' thoughts at the time.
"If I could sit down and go back through my life they'd be a lot of things I would change."
Morrison only made three appearances for United but had personal problems off the pitch, and was also accused of stealing from teammates.
Advert
The 27-year-old also explained the issues he had at Old Trafford adding, "It was an every day thing for me when I was young, growing up at United, it was a nice environment to go into everyday with world-class players, it was enjoyable...
"And I know it's poor, but because I was there from the under-9s I would skip training some days. I would wake up and I would just skip it, I don't know why.
"It's hard to get me off the training field now, so if I took my life back to those days I think it would have been a lot better.
"I did lack in a few things and I've made mistakes.
Advert
"There were some things in my life when I was young that I now definitely would not do, I'd have gone down a different path."
Speaking on Sky Sports, Gary Neville, who used to watch the the former West Ham and Lazio midfielder for MUTV, revealed the praise Sir Alex Ferguson had heaped on the youngster at the time, "When Ravel was 13, I remember Sir Alex Ferguson saying that this was the biggest talent he'd seen at the club since Ryan Giggs. That is an enormous statement from someone like Sir Alex Ferguson.
"I used to commentate for MUTV on the youth games - including that year where they won the youth cup, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Ravel Morrison... Ravel was special, really special.
Advert
"I've kept in touch with him - I've always had a soft spot for him. I don't think it was down to his attitude or lack of work-rate. I think there were some significant complexities and challenges in his life that anyone would find difficult to deal with.
"He's not quite achieved what he should have achieved but the bit I do hope for - I don't think he'll get to the top or play for England like he should have done but I would hope he can have a stable life and a stable football career."
After a career of missed opportunities and problems both on and off the pitch there's still hope that Morrison can have a solid football career in the next few years.
Hopefully he can use the upset as motivation to be as good as he can be now.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Paul Pogba, Football News, Manchester United, Sheffield United, Ravel Morrison, Premier League, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney