Memphis Depay Opens Up on Manchester United Exit, Wayne Rooney Relationship

Lyon forward and former Manchester United man Memphis Depay has talked about his exit from the club and relationship with Wayne Rooney ahead of his team's clash with Manchester City on Wednesday.

The Dutch international returned to Manchester for the UEFA Champions League Group F meeting and took the opportunity to talk about his time with the Red Devils.

Per Zinny Boswell of Sky Sports, he said his stint with United was "not successful," but he stated Manchester is "still red":

"Everybody knows the story of me and Manchester United was not successful and I'm just happy that I'm the player I am today.

"I can look back and say I didn't want it to go like that—nobody wanted that—things happened and I became a much better player. I can feel it in the games, I mean everybody can see it I think as well.

"After one season, I couldn't find myself in the team. I was still young, didn't get a lot of opportunities, but I must say that the first season I didn't put the quality on the table that I thought.

"I believe for sure that the city is still red and tomorrow I'll be trying to get a good result against the Blues."

As Boswell noted, Rooney recently said Depay ignored some key advice he gave the winger during his time at Old Trafford, including an anecdote about a red leather jacket.

That last part left Depay confused:

"Some people can't take a joke and me and Wayne are very good friends. I understand what he meant with it and that's it.

"When I heard about it, I was just questioning it like, 'I don't have a red leather jacket,' of all my thousands of jackets I don't have a red leather jacket.

"It's in the past and I'm a flamboyant guy and like nice stuff but that doesn't mean I couldn't be more smart. I've become more mature."

The 24-year-old moved to Old Trafford in 2015 after a sensational season with PSV but never lived up to the massive hype in England. By 2017 he was in dire need of a fresh start and joined Lyon.

The Dutchman has rediscovered the form that made him such a wanted prospect and scored an impressive 19 goals in Ligue 1 last season. Here are those goals:

Plenty of fans have blamed former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal for Depay's struggles. The two worked together with the national team before Van Gaal brought Depay to Old Trafford, but he never got the most out of him once the move went through.

Per Dutch Football, Depay confirmed there were issues between the two:

While there have been persistent reports of a buyback clause, Sport Witness' Tom Coastexplained how that's impossible, as Ligue 1 doesn't allow such clauses. 

That doesn't mean Depay could not return to Old Trafford, however. Per Coast, there could be some sort of "gentlemen's agreement" or a first option on the player in case of a sale.

Depay's comments indicate he still has affection for the club, although the story of the two seems finished at this point. He could be in line for a big transfer if he keeps up his good form, however, and has started the 2018-19 season in good form.

A strong showing against the Premier League champions would improve his chances of earning a top transfer.