MAROUANE FELLAINI has revealed he CRIIED and rushed to say goodbye to David Moyes when he was sacked by Manchester United in 2014.
Fellaini, 33, played under Moyes for five years at Everton before joining him at Old Trafford when he replaced the retiring Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
But Moyes, dubbed ‘The Chosen One’, lasted just 51 games at the club before getting the sack, failing to make it to the end of his first season.
Fellaini told The Athletic: “I was sad for him when he was sacked because I know how much he wanted to succeed.
“If you asked all the players at Everton what they think of Moyes, they’ll say how much of a nice person he is.
“He brought me to England, then signed me for Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world. I can never say anything bad about him.
“I’ve said this since the beginning… if you give Moyes time, he will make a team. I’ve watched West Ham a few times this season. They’ve become a side that’s difficult to beat.
“If I’m honest, I cried when I found out Moyes lost his job at Manchester United. I thought he was going to stay for a long time.
Most read in Football
“It was a sad day. I went to his office to say goodbye, before he said bye to everyone. I told him, ‘Good luck’. But it was a difficult time for me.
“Moyes is a top man, he has a big heart. That’s why maybe he didn’t succeed at Manchester United, because he’s too nice.
“He went to Spain, he went to Sunderland and then got the job at West Ham and saved them. Then they changed their manager but Moyes has shown what can happen when you let him build a team.”
Moyes brought Fellaini to the Premier League at the age of just 20 from Standard Liege, for what was at the time an Everton club record fee of £15m.
And he signed the Belgian again after departing for Man Utd in 2013 for a fee of £27.5m.
Fellaini would go on to make 177 appearances in five and a half years at United, winning the FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup.
He played regularly under both Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, but found opportunities limited under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian, who took over as caretaker manager in December 2018, allowed Fellaini to leave Old Trafford for free in January 2019.
The 87-cap Belgium international then joined Chinese club Shandong Luneng and has made 57 appearances for them, winning the Chinese FA Cup in 2020.