Rojo: I was living the dream when I heard United wanted me

Marcos Rojo has reflected back to when he first heard Manchester United wanted to buy him last summer. When Sporting Lisbon seemed unprepared to negotiate with United, the defender refused to play, until Juan Sebastian Veron told him to go back to training and wait for the deal to go through.

It was a huge surprise when I was told United wanted to buy me. I was in Portugal when my representative told me. He asked me to stay calm but I could not. I started living this dream. I could not think of anything else. I would call him every day, but when it seemed the transfer would not happen then I refused to work with Sporting. That was when Veron played his part in the process. He was like a strict father to me, scolding me. Veron called me one day when I had refused to train with Sporting and said ‘Do not be stubborn. If Manchester United wants a player then they will not let you escape. And so I went back, and the transfer went ahead.