Oviedo (Spain) Sep 4 (IANS) Spanish footballer Pedro revealed his national teammate Victor Valdes warned him about his “problem” of playing under Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal before he joined English football club Chelsea.
Pedro was linked with a move to Old Trafford for much of the summer before Chelsea took advantage of their rivals’ indecision by completing a late deal.
While United goalkeeper Valdes spoke highly of his club and its supporters, Pedro admitted his Spain teammate did not recommend life under Van Gaal.
“He (Valdes) told me it was a very good club with great supporters and the only problem was with the coach,” Pedro was quoted as saying by Spanish daily Marca on Thursday.
Valdes has been left out of United’s Champions League squad following the collapse of David de Gea’s move to Real Madrid and Pedro believes his former Barcelona team-mate is being treated unfairly.
“It is true that I do not like the treatment of my (Spain) team-mates, especially Victor, who has been a reference for me and is a model professional,” the 28-year-old said.
“I don’t think it’s fair, but that did not influence my decision to join Chelsea. I just saw Man United wasn’t convinced to take the step of signing me, they were delaying a lot and I needed a team with which to start the new season. Chelsea acted more decisively,” Pedro said.