Crossing the Manchester football divide is a rarely-trod path – but Frederic Veseli switched allegiances with one short car ride.
The Albanian centre-back spent three-and-a-half years with Man City after he was signed as a highly-rated teenager. He'd captained his country of birth Switzerland to Under-17 World Cup glory and looked to be set for a big future.
But a lack of first-team opportunities turned his head to United following a chance pub meeting with Rene Meulensteen, then assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. "He knew my girlfriend’s dad and they learned of my problems with City and what they were offering," Veseli told The Athletic last year.
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Despite pleas from City boss Roberto Mancini to renew his contract, the youngster was released at the end of the 2011/12 season. And it didn't take him long to sign his next deal.
He explained: "The next day, I drove to City’s training ground at Carrington to collect my stuff. I didn’t tell anybody what I was going to do next.
"I told the gaffer that I was leaving the club and he asked me where I was going. I told him: 'United'. He couldn’t believe it, but he had to take training. He wished me good luck.
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"The reserve manager told me I had to train, but I told him I was leaving. I didn’t say where. Then I drove around the corner and signed for Manchester United after doing a medical."
Veseli entered a stacked youth squad including the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Michael Keane, and that combined with repeated injuries meant he didn't make it on the red side of Manchester either.
But he enjoyed his year with the Red Devils more, saying: "City had loads of big names and would become champions, but United were already champions. The energy was different, the aura. I fell in love with it straight away."
After saying goodbye to Manchester in 2013 he had spells at Ipswich Town, Bury and Port Vale in England, Swiss side Lugano, and Empoli, Salernitana and Benevento in Italy before joining Turkish Super Lig club Fatih Karagumruk in the summer. While his club career has been tumultuous, Veseli now has 44 caps and counting for Albania.
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