Matteo Darmian’s first and only experience abroad as a footballer at Manchester United made him discover a ‘completely new world’, both in terms of involvement in the club’s commercial activities and football culture, as he believes players in England face ‘less pressure’.
The Italian wing-back spent four seasons at Old Trafford between 2015 and 2019, winning the first trophies of his career as he played for a side that secured the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Community Shield and the Europa League.
He joined the Red Devils at a time when they were trying to rebuild shortly after Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, also signing ‘media superstars’ such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
However, Darmian also admitted to being shocked to find out his girlfriend wouldn’t be able to sit in a ‘reserved section’ on his first away trip to Liverpool immediately after moving to Manchester United.
“When I signed for Manchester United, I discovered that in England, during away games, family members don’t have a reserved section; they sit among the fans,” Darmian explained in an interview with Cronache di Spogliatoio.
“The first match was the derby against Liverpool…
“I told my girlfriend, ‘Look, it’s a very intense match. Do you still want to come?’ And she said, ‘Yes, of course! I really care.’ So, she got in the car with the steering wheel on the right and went into the away section.
“For a footballer, the English football culture brings less pressure. During the week, there’s less talk about football; the weekend and the experience of going to the stadium are more important.”
Knowing that he was required to open a social media account was one of the biggest shocks for Darmian upon his arrival in Manchester, as he discovered a ‘new world’.
“As soon as I arrived in Manchester, I discovered a completely new world,” the Inter defender noted.
“In Italy, very few players had social media profiles. In England, on my first day, they immediately told me to open an Instagram account and that I would need to participate in commercial initiatives.
“What now seems normal wasn’t back then. There were so many commercial activities; it was a completely different world from what I was used to. In the following years, Pogba and Ibrahimovic also arrived, and they were media superstars.”
