It’s been close to a month since Nemanja Matić announced he will leave Manchester United at the end of this season.
A day later, the midfielder came off the bench in the Red Devils’ 3-2 win over Norwich City and has started every [five] league game since then.
In the 33-year-old’s last home appearance, Manchester United’s sealed a comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford on May 4th.
Matić has now shared his happiness after he was given an opportunity to say goodbye to the home fans at Old Trafford, even though he was forced to stay on the pitch after the full time by one his teammates.
“I feel great and it’s really great to say goodbye to the club and the fans in such a wonderful way. There were 75,000 people in the stands,” he told K1 Televizija, relayed by Hotsport.
“I wanted to leave a mark in that club, after Nemanja Vidic, who was the first to do so. But everything that is beautiful has an end. I tried to brighten the face of all people in Serbia with my game, and I hope that someone from our region will continue this tradition.”
“I wanted to get off the field as soon as possible, because I don’t like to have something revolving around me and to be in the center of attention, but Ronaldo told me ‘Wait, what are you doing? Come back’. It is a great honour to share a dressing room with him every day.”
“I don’t like to talk about myself, it should be done by others, and nowadays cause of the internet and new technologies, with one click you can find out everything about what I did and what I achieved.”
The former Chelsea star can feature for Manchester United for the final time in their last league tie of the season against Crystal Palace on May 22nd. Matić admitted a decision on his future will be made after that fixture.
“The options are still open, but what is certain is that this is my last season at United and I want to finish it in the best possible way. We have another game on May 22, and after that I will make a decision where I will continue my career,” he explained.
The Serbian also went on to discuss about his efforts to help people back in his country.
“I have helped, I continue to help my village and I will always help as much as I can. When I was little, it was my dream to help my village, my church and my football club. When you live in such a small place as my Vrelo, you are all one family,” Matić added.
“Now that God has given me a chance to do something, I am trying. We all know each other, and people appreciate that. For me, it is something completely natural and normal. I think when your fist is full, you have to open it to get it back. God has given people every place more successfully than others, and those people must share it with others.”
