'I knew my time at Man United was over after talk with manager - it was the worst'

Louis Saha has revealed that a candid discussion with Sir Alex Ferguson led to his departure from Manchester United.

The ex-France international, now 46, joined the Red Devils from Fulham - who United face tonight (January 26) - in the middle of the 2003/04 season in a £12.4million deal. Despite often playing a supporting role to the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez up front, Saha still managed to score an impressive 42 goals in 124 appearances, of which only 76 were starts.

His time at United came to an end after he was sidelined for the 2008 Champions League final. Two years prior, he had missed out on playing in the World Cup final due to suspension and had pledged not to let such an opportunity pass him by again.

However, a poorly-timed knee injury took the decision out of the forward's hands, leaving him heartbroken. "It was the worst," Saha told FourFourTwo in 2019. "I'd worked really hard to come back from injury, and I'd also learned from my mistake at the World Cup."

Having started just 10 games all season, the disappointment of missing out on the biggest game in club football prompted Saha to bring his United career to an end. "It was after missing that final that I talked to the manager and said, 'I need to leave'," he explained.

Ferguson assured him that he wouldn't obstruct his move, and shortly after, a transfer to Everton was finalised. Despite the circumstances, Saha maintains a high level of respect for Sir Alex, but the pain of missing out on the Champions League final lingered for a long time.

"It took me four or five years to realise how painful it was," Saha said. "When I wrote my book, because when I finally tried to explain how it felt, I realised how much damage it did