Nantes fullback Fabio da Silva believes injuries wrecked his career at Manchester United.

Fabio and twin brother Rafael were cult heroes at United.

“In Brazil, I'd been captain of the national team at the U-17 level," he told ESPN. “I scored lots of goals for that team, and I would dribble, because that's what we did. Not in Manchester.

“Maybe I didn't develop enough, but I was also in competition with Patrice Evra and he was always fit.

“He was helpful to me, and we had a good relationship. He didn't make it easy on me, and he was honest.

“He even said, 'Fabio, I can give you a chance [to play], but imagine if you do well and I lose my place?'

“Even without Patrice, I had too many injuries, and that stopped me getting into the rhythm of playing every week."