Unless something drastic changes in the coming weeks, it seems Marouane Fellaini will be leaving Manchester United on a free in the summer after spending five eventful years at Old Trafford.
Much maligned, often for very little, the Belgium international feels the club should have come forward with a renewal last year rather than coming in at the last minute in the way they did.
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has enjoyed his time at the club, and played alongside some fantastic footballers, like his compatriot Romelu Lukaku or even Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Why those two in particular? Because he discussed the pair in an interview with Sport/Foot in Belgium.
On the Belgian striker, he said: “I know one thing with Romelu, it’s that he’s always going to score. He’s obsessed with it. He knows everything on every forward. Honestly, hats off for what he’s doing at 24. In the dressing room, he’s a good guy, respectful, who works. He always has this grit about him, and he settled in really quickly because he speaks many languages”.
Coming in from Everton for a hefty fee, Lukaku all but replaced Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Manchester United’s focal point up front, which inevitably led to the Swedish star to find a new club in LA Galaxy.
Asked about what memory Fellaini will keep of the eccentric forward, he said: “He was my guy. I wished him good luck for the future, and we’re still in touch. He’s got incredible charisma. You just need to see how his arrival in LA was staged. It wouldn’t surprise me if he became an actor. He has the attitude to do so.”
Often very open, perhaps too much so, in interviews, Zlatan has left a trail of quotes behind him few footballers will ever live up to, which led Sport/Foot to enquire whether or not he actually was like that in real life, or if it was just an act he put on in front of the press.
Fellaini explained: “He’s always the same. It’s a natural arrogance. Either you like it or you don’t. I was one of the first to train with him at United because the group had left for China when we came back from the Euros. We were together for a week every day. He’s like me, he likes to work but also laugh and tease.
“Honestly, Zlatan is pure class. He’s a great professional even if he shouldn’t have come back so quickly. He tried too hard to play up to his ‘I am a lion’ thing (laughs). I told you, he’s an actor.”
