The former agent of Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek says it was difficult seeing him struggle at Old Trafford.

Guido Albers spoke about Van de Beek's frustration at United, not least when Paul Pogba was selected ahead of him - despite a lack of discipline.

"I saw the disappointment of how he was treated by Manchester United and saw up close what he did to turn the situation around. But from the day he was not allowed to leave Manchester United again, it was over. In the Netherlands, Donny got all the appreciation, performed well and was super popular with the fans. He then never played for Manchester United. The relationship between him and the club became really bad," he told Voetbal Primeur.

"He had to compete with Paul Pogba, who arrived late to training camp, said sorry and was allowed to play again - instead of a guy who trained ten hours a day for eight weeks to show he was good enough.

"Then I had that disappointment thrown at me. I underestimated what the lack of playing time did to him mentally. I should have thought earlier: 'How can I help him?'"