Kiko Macheda regrets leaving Manchester United.

He admits he made a terrible error when he asked Ferguson to go on loan to Sampdoria in 2011.

"I don't know to be honest," Macheda said to the Vibe with Five podcast when asked about why he wanted to go back to Italy. “I had [offers from] Sunderland and Everton to go on loan for six months.

“But, as an Italian guy I also had a dream to play in Serie A. I took things easy, you know, I said, 'okay, I will go there six months, I'll do whatever I do and then I will come back to Manchester'.

“I thought 'I want to try this new league, that I have been growing up [watching]'. I went there with a lot of enthusiasm. Sir Alex did not want me to go there, at any cost.

“I remember before one game, I went into his room at the Lowry Hotel, to beg him to send me there. That was probably the biggest mistake I ever made in my career."

Macheda failed to score a single Serie A goal for the Italian giants who were eventually relegated at the end of the season. And the now 31-year-old believes his relationship with Ferguson was never the same after.

“Fergie used to love me, he would just pull me inside without even thinking who was in front of me," Macheda added. “After this, I feel like I disappointed him by not listening to him - when I came back, I could feel it."