Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera has said that he had differences with the Manchester United board which meant that he had to pursue a fresh challenge elsewhere. The 29-year-old was in a contract standoff with the Red Devils for the past year and he eventually decided to move on after the expiry of the deal last month.

Speaking to Marca, the former Athletic Bilbao graduate revealed that he did not feel important with the club’s plans for the future and that influenced the decision to join Les Parisiens, he said: “I don’t like looking at the past but there were differences regarding the project and my importance within it. I was very happy, I have a lot to thank the club for, the fans and also Solskjaer. He did a lot for me to stay but things didn’t happen. They [United] arrived late [with the contract offer] and, by then, I’d already made the decision to play in Paris.”

Herrera was touted to join the French champions from the turn of the year but the move was only made official after the expiry of his contract with United. The midfielder has earned a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 holders and on top of that, he has been rewarded with a bumper £300,000-a-week salary which he would not have received with the Red Devils.

Meanwhile, Herrera has become the club’s third free transfer signing of the summer transfer window with Marcin Bulka and Mitchel Bakker previously joining the squad. Aside from the trio, Les Parisiens have also landed the signature of Pablo Sarabia from Sevilla for a reported fee of €18m. The Capital outfit are likely to continue with the transfer business during the forthcoming weeks and reports have recently claimed that they could seek to pursue Ricardo Pereira from Premier League outfit Leicester City.