I never should have left Man United to join Chelsea – it's my only regret

Juan Sebastian Veron admitted he regrets his switch from Manchester United to Chelsea, citing injuries as his big downfall at Stamford Bridge.

Few Premier League players have made the switch from one big title rival to another, with a rare example being Carlos Tevez's infamous move across Manchester to neighbours City. Veron is one of those players who jumped ship to a big rival, when he swapped United for Stamford Bridge in 2003 after just two years at Old Trafford - where the sides will meet later today (November 3).

The now-49-year-old initially moved to United for a British transfer record fee of £28.1million, scoring 11 times in 82 appearances and winning one Premier League title.

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After his signing, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I never thought I'd spend this much money on a footballer. I think he's coming into great years of his career and he will peak and we'll get the benefit of that. He is a world-class, fantastic footballer with a vision of a game we can use."

However, Veron spent just 24 months under Ferguson's guidance before becoming one of Roman Abramovich's first signings as Chelsea's owner. He left United for £15m, meaning the club made a loss of around £13m from their original transfer fee.

When talking about his time at Stamford Bridge in 2019, the Argentine explained: "At Chelsea, the reality is that I had very little time. I had a major back injury and I was out for practically six months. I was already thinking more about going back to Italy than staying there in England."

The switch to Chelsea ended up being a regrettable one, as he didn't get much game time at Stamford Bridge, making just 14 appearances and scoring only once. He was sent out on loan to Inter Milan and Club Estudiantes de La Plata before taking a career break for a year and staying at La Plata until his retirement in 2017.

Speaking about his regret on joining Chelsea, Veron said: "With United, the truth is that there are few things, very few, that I regret. But one is to have left Manchester. They never pushed me or told me 'you have to go', but they gave me the chance, the possibility.

"I had talks with my former colleagues at that time telling me that I had to stay. And at one moment I decided to leave because I wanted to play, because I didn't know... I should have stayed."

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