Manchester legend Edwin van der Sar believes that his former club will have a difficult time in the Premier League after their slow start to the season.
The Red Devils are already six points off the pace in the league after suffering consecutive defeats to Brighton and Tottenham. According to Sky Sports News, Jose Mourinho’s job is not under immediate threat but Van der Sar believes United could struggle under the Portuguese this season.
“Last year, there was a very big gap [to Manchester City] and this year they’ve started badly, losing two of their first three games,” said Van der Sar, who won four league titles during his time at Old Trafford. It will be an uphill battle. You have so many strong teams in the Premier League. It is going to be difficult this year.”
Van der Sar was speaking on Thursday at the UEFA Awards ceremony in Monaco, from which Luka Modric took home named Men’s Player of the Year award.
Former United midfielder David Beckham received the UEFA President’s Award in recognition of his on-field career and charity work away from the pitch.
During his career he played for Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the second most capped player in the Netherlands national team’s history. He currently works as the chief executive officer at Ajax. He came out of retirement to play for Dutch amateur team VV Noordwijk.
He started his senior career at Ajax and is considered to be a member of a golden generation of players at the club. He remained there for nine years before moving to Italian club Juventus and then to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United. He is one of the few footballers to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different teams – with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008; in the latter, he was also named UEFA Man of the Match. Van der Sar also won the UEFA Cup with Ajax in 1992.
Van der Sar is one of the most decorated and successful footballers ever, having won 27 major trophies in his career, mainly at Ajax and Manchester United.Van der Sar also set numerous records in his career. In the 2008–09 season he set the world league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,311 minutes. Until 2017 he was the most capped player for the Netherlands national team, with 130 caps, until Wesley Sneijder surpassed him. He is also the oldest player to win the Premier League, at 40 years and 205 days old. Van der Sar has won several individual awards, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009. He is considered, by critics and fellow players, as one of the best goalkeepers of all time