Donny van de Beek has revealed he considered quitting football during his difficult spell at Manchester United before getting a new lease of life with a summer move to Girona.

Van de Beek signed for United in August 2020 for £35m and he arrived with a reputation as one of the most promising midfielders in Europe, having been part of the Ajax side that reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

The Dutch midfielder scored on his debut against Crystal Palace but he never earned the trust of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Erik ten Hag and in four years at Old Trafford he made only six league starts and of his 62 appearances in all competitions, only 23 of them were starts.

His time at the club included disappointing loan spells at Everton and Eintracht Frankfurt and any chance of a revival under his former Ajax boss Ten Hag was wrecked by a knee injury in January 2023.

Van de Beek left Old Trafford this summer to join La Liga’s surprise package Girona in a deal worth just £420,000 to United. While his former club are in the Europa League this season, Van de Beek has returned to the Champions League.

He has made just one start for the Catalan side so far, playing a total of 178 minutes, but with injuries to Oriol Romeu and Daley Blind he could be set for a run in the team and Van de Beek is line to start against Feyenoord on Wednesday night.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of that fixture, the 27-year-old has opened up on the struggles he has had in the game in recent years.

“I don’t like to talk about the past. I’ve been getting fit and feeling good for a few weeks now. Now I feel in a good moment. I love playing against Feyenoord,” he said.

“I have had many hard knocks in my career. Now I feel like I’m starting a new stage at a fantastic club. We play very well and it’s a big challenge for me. I want to keep improving.

“There have been moments when I was about to give up everything, but the family helped me to continue believing in myself. They have convinced me that I have to do what I like and that fills me up, which is to play football.”