As he attempts to get his career back on track with Novara, former Manchester United wonderkid Federico Macheda has reflected on his time at Old Trafford and why Sir Alex Ferguson will always be special to him.
He burst onto the scene in 2009 with a last gasp winner against Aston Villa on his debut but has struggled to live up to his reputation, his nomadic career bringing him across Italy, Germany and the English lower divisions since leaving the Red Devils.
After training with both Watford and Roma throughout the current season, he earned a contract with Novara in December, continuing to receive support from Ferguson before securing that particular move.
“In 2009, I was a child who was living the dream at one of the biggest clubs in the world and in one of the most beautiful stadiums,” Macheda recalled. “I still have all of my shirts from that time and remember the advice that my teammates gave me.
“Today I’m more mature than I was then but I have good memories of my time at Manchester. I still speak with [Jesse] Lingard and [Danny] Welbeck because I managed to learn English well, thankfully.
“I still hear from Sir Alex Ferguson too, before arriving at Novara I spoke to him about it. He has done so much for me on both a footballing and a human level and I really can’t thank him enough.”
The 25-year-old also enjoyed sharing a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford, something which also had a big impact on him.
“He was an incredible player,” addd Macheda. “We played together for a few months and I had a good relationship with him during our time together. Then your careers took different paths.”
