Fellaini: I Would Have Stopped Playing If I Listened To Critics

By Joshua Walters

Marouane Fellaini has revealed his resilience as a person and said he would have stopped playing football had he paid attention to media criticisms.

The former Manchester United midfielder has acknowledged to receiving lots of criticisms on his quality as a player but maintained he had kept himself afloat in the game because he disregarded them. 

The Belgian player has been a victim of criticisms from his days at Standard Liege and experienced an even worst fate at Manchester United, where he was regarded as sub-standard by some pundits and supporters of the club. 

Fellaini left Manchester United this season for Chinese Super League side, Shandong Luneng Taishan, and told Het Nieuwsblad he would have quit the game had he paid attention to the media.

“In football, there are opportunities that come and opportunities that go.”

Fellaini spent six years with Manchester United, having joined them from Everton in 2013 for £27.5 million.

Fellaini scored fourteen Premier League goals for the Reds and scored one goal in five appearances in the Champions League.

“I still had a contract with Man United, so I could have been there.”

“If I’d listened to the media, I’d better have stopped when I was still with Standard [Liege]. That’s why I don't listen to it."

“I have received a lot of criticism, but I accept that. I know it comes from the outside: within the clubs, within the group of players and within the national team, my qualities have always been respected. And that gave me great souvenirs."

“Again: every step I took was a good choice for me.”