Morgan Schneiderlin has blasted Louis van Gaal and pinned the blame for his dire spell at Manchester United on the Dutchman.
Schneiderlin joined United from Southampton for £25million in the summer of 2015, moving to Old Trafford ahead of Van Gaal's second and final season as Red Devils boss.
But the French midfielder never lived up to his price tag, scoring one goal in 47 appearances before leaving for Everton in January 2017.
Schneiderlin believes there is only one person at fault for his underwhelming 18 months at Old Trafford, slamming Van Gaal for his "restrictive" management style.
He told The Athletic : "We were told: 'When you have the ball you have to do this' instead of playing with my gut like I had done with (former Southampton bosses Mauricio) Pochettino and (Ronald) Koeman.
"The worse thing for a football player is when you think too much. I started to think: 'Ah, the manager wants me to do this.'
"You lose your instinct, your start to force things, you miss passes, you arrive too late for a challenge. Your confidence goes down."
Schneiderlin added: "I would play a very good game and then a very bad game. I wasn’t confident enough. I started to complain to my wife. It hurts me even now that I couldn’t play freely at United.
"The pressure of the club was no problem to me. I like pressure, I need pressure and adrenaline. The fans were good to me in the street.
"The problem was me because I knew I had so much to give but I couldn’t give it because I felt restricted.
"Looking back, I shouldn’t have been so upset, but at the time that’s how it was. You had to wait until the manager told you that you could eat.
Is Schneiderlin's criticism of Van Gaal fair? Have your say here.
"These things work when the players are 19 and 20, but not when you have older players."
In a damning verdict on Eredivisie and La Liga winner Van Gaal, Schneiderlin even claimed he signed for United solely due to the prestige of the club.
"He [Van Gaal] wanted me too but we had less connection on the phone," the 30-year-old said. "So I signed more for the football club, Manchester United, than the manager."
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