Ander Herrera Opens Up on Wayne Rooney, Louis Van Gaal, Lionel Messi, More

Ander Herrera played only a supporting role in Sunday's biggest Premier League story, being the victim of Steven Gerrard's stamp which saw the Liverpool skipper rapidly dismissed as the Reds lost 2-1 to Manchester United at Anfield.

However, United's £29 million summer signing from Athletic Bilbao has slowly been making himself an indispensable part of manager Louis van Gaal's first team with a string of fine performances from central midfield.

Herrera struggled for a regular spot early in his United career but has now started seven games on the bounce and provided a fine assist for Juan Mata's first goal on Sunday in a strong performance, per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst:

The 25-year-old Spaniard has now revealed, in a lengthy interview with El Pais, that he has taken his time to adapt to English football, but he is clearly relishing his opportunity to play in the Premier League.

Herrera insists he has great respect for Van Gaal but that the Dutchman is a disciplinarian, whose methods take time to adapt to, per Joe Short in the Express:

"

I keep my distance with Van Gaal. I think he's a good guy with a strong character and a good background. He likes discipline and does not believe in egos, but we are all equal under his rule. Van Gaal loves possession and doesn't like to risk losing the ball. He wants to take time with possession and to keep the ball because he believes space is created by staying in the right place, because the team has the quality to find you. At the beginning he used to tell me off because I always looked for the ball, I wanted to have it, and I must wait for it.

"

On his skipper, Wayne Rooney, the former Real Zaragoza player referenced the 29-year-old's now infamous kitchen bout with Phil Bardsley, per B/R UK:

Herrera notes that while there is room for levity in the United dressing room, Rooney and Michael Carrick both command respect, though he suggests a difference from previous years which David de Gea described to him as "more hierarchical with [Rio] Ferdinand, [Paul] Scholes and [Ryan] Giggs," per Luckhurst.

Herrera also revealed that Lionel Messi's performance for Barcelona against Manchester City in their Champions League second leg almost moved him to tears, per B/R UK:

Though Messi did not get on the scoresheet against the Sky Blues, he did assist the only goal of the game for Ivan Rakitic and ran City ragged with phenomenal trickery and skill.

Herrera admits that he is an emotional man but that this allows him to get himself up for every game he plays, even against lowly opposition, per John Singer in the Daily Mail:

"

I get excited easily and not only with the major teams. I'm a classic man and I was delighted when we played vs Yeovil Town in front of 8,000 standing people yelling at me: "Who are you?" [...]

There's only one Messi and one Ronaldo, where the club must adapt to them. The rest of players are earthly so I must adapt to United.

"

He seems to be adapting just fine given his recent performances, in which he has linked well with both Carrick and Mata in the middle of the park.

He has been key to United's two most recent victories, which have seen them produce excellent performances against Liverpool and Tottenham—they beat Spurs 3-0.

Herrera signed a four-year contract at Old Trafford in June 2014, and he looks to be an excellent purchase from United, with The Times' James Ducker praising his obvious intelligence off the pitch:

While United look on the up, they are still some way off being title challengers, but in Herrera, they seem to have found a central player who has the quality to be a Premier League winner.

He was not necessarily the star attraction of United's splurge in the transfer market last summer, but he is becoming a key part of Van Gaal's team and is set to be a major player as United move forward.