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Nemanja Matic has revealed how a picture of himself in the club’s training gear emerged before his transfer to Manchester United was offically announced.
As reported by The Sun, Matic admitted that the leaked social media post was taken by none other than himself.
The photo of the midfielder found its way to the internet after Matic sent it to a WhatsApp group of people in his native Serbia.
“It wasn’t ‘someone’… I took the picture! I took it, obviously not to put it on social media, but because I have a (WhatsApp) group with 50 people, more or less, from my village (in Serbia),” said Matic.
United confirmed the £40 million deal the following day but the cat was already out of the bag thanks to Nemanja’s friends.
“They sent me reports from newspapers saying the deal was done. So I sent them a selfie. Of course, they probably sent it to some friends. The power of social media did the job,” Matic recalled.
Despite making 189 appearances for the club, United fans probably didn’t see the absolute best of the big midfielder.
Matic scored four goals during his spell at Old Trafford, one of which won the club’s Goal of the Season award, in the 2017/18 season.
His last minute, long range strike away at Crystal Palace secured a comeback win for Jose Mourinho‘s side and sparked scenes in the away end that will live long in the memory.
Unfortunately Matic was unable to add a trophy to his honours list during his spell at United but he will be remembered for giving his all every time he pulled on the red shirt.
Matic has now reunited with former United boss Mourinho at Roma, with the pair linking up for the third time in their respective careers.
He has been a mainstay in the Italian capital, having played 37 games for the club since joining in the summer after being released by United.
