Ashley Young explains how Conte convinced him to leave Man United for Inter

MILAN, ITALY – JULY 28: Ashley Young of FC Internazionale gestures during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on July 28, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Former England international Ashley Young has opened up about the process that led to his leaving Manchester United and joining Antonio Conte at Inter in 2020, and has revealed that he had a last-minute possibilità to stay put at Old Trafford before sealing his San Siro switch. 

Young left United at the age of 34, with six months to go on his contract at Old Trafford. He went on to join Inter on an initial six-month deal, which was extended for the 2020-21 campaign, when the Nerazzurri won the Serie A title for the first time in over a decade. 

Speaking in a recent appearance on Sky Sports, Young revealed that a phone call from Conte, who had told him that he would be a starter in San Siro, was key in convincing him to leave Manchester United, even though he was club captain at the time. 

Why Young left Manchester United to join Inter

The Englishman also explained that the presence of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw in the Manchester United squad limited his own opportunities in the first-team before he left to join Inter. 

Young then revealed that United came back in with a last-minute contract offer in an attempt to stop him from joining Inter, but the versatile wideman had already made his decision by that point. 

“I don’t think there’s ever a player that plays for Manchester United that ever wants to leave. But, at the time, I was club captain of the biggest club in the world,” Young told Sky. 

“But for me, and speaking to Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) at the time, Aaron Wan-Bissaka had come in, I was playing as the right-back. (Solskjaer) said that (Wan-Bissaka) was going to play more and more.

“I was playing as a left-back as well. Luke Shaw was playing, they’re both fantastic players. I’ve got so much respect for both the players. 

“For me at the time, I could have stayed there. But it was one of them things where I’d heard of the interest from Antonio Conte. And at 34 years old, thinking I could stay here and be club captain but not play, or go to another league and play for a man that literally came on the phone and said to me ‘you’re coming here to play, this is it, I want you to play on my team’. 

“I don’t want to just sit,” Young continued. “A lot of people will say you could have sat there and picked up your money, for me, it’s playing football, that’s what I grew up on. As a kid, I always wanted to play football and have success. 

“Inter were top of the league when I went there. They were going to ride the success and then the next season we won Serie A. 

“I’d already made my mind up that I was going to go to Inter. (Manchester United) then offered me a deal. They could have done it sooner. If they really did want it to happen then they would have offered me the deal sooner. 

“But for me, I was happy, I’m glad I made the move to Inter. I won out there and won a title.”

🗣️ “I don’t think there’s ever a player that plays for Manchester United that ever wants to leave”

Former Manchester United captain Ashley Young explains his move to Inter Milan 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/3zreE6gvXv

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