Angel Gomes on leaving Manchester United: “I had to follow my heart.” | OneFootball

In his interview today with L’Équipe, Lille midfielder and former Manchester United prodigy Angel Gomes spoke about the reasons for his departure from the Red Devils in 2020.

Gomes had become the club’s youngest-ever appearance-maker when he came on for the final day of the season in 2017, but only went on to make another nine appearances in all competitions across the following three seasons.

After a successful loan spell at Boavista in the 2020/21 season – scoring six in thirty appearances – the England youth international has now become a regular in the Lille line-up, having turned out 30 times in all competitions last season and missed just the one league game this campaign under Paulo Fonseca.

As he explains himself, the decision to make the move across the Channel was a tough one, but ultimately a step he needed to make in order to progress in his career, especially after being won over by Luís Campos:

“It was a very difficult decision. In my heart, I wanted to leave, in my head I was thinking of staying. But I had to follow my heart. I felt that I needed to take another step in my career. I felt that, had I stayed, there wouldn’t be a lot of opportunities for me. Luís Campos and Lille spoke about their project and I believed in it even more, that’s what convinced me to move – the faith Lille had in me. Do I imagine myself coming back one day? Obviously, it’s home. I would love to come back. But you never know in football. I just have to keep my feet on the ground, and keep playing, making the most of it. I can’t predict what will happen in the future.”