Edwin van der Sar has revealed that he would probably have
already retired as a professional football player had he not joined
Manchester United.
The former Netherlands international, who is the most-capped Dutch
player of all time with 130 appearances to his name, moved to Old
Trafford from Fulham in 2005.
Now 38-years-old, he admits the lack of silverware during his spell
at Craven Cottage made him think about hanging up his gloves.
"If I had stayed at Fulham I would have quit the game by now,"
The Sun quotes Van der Sar as remarking.
"After my third and fourth year there, I thought my chance of
playing for a big club again had gone. I went to Fulham for the
project they explained to me - but it didn’t really work out.
"I might have been playing at a high level for the national team
but I was starting to miss those European nights and challenging
for titles.
"At certain times you start to, maybe not lose the faith, but just
wonder how long it will take until someone picks me up. I was
thinking, ‘Is it just me? Do I think I’m better than any manager
does? Do they think I am just too old or not good enough?’
"But Alex Ferguson bought me and I have to admit, if I had not been
at Manchester United, I’d have stopped playing by now."