Darmian's Respect For Legendary Reds

Matteo Darmian admits the history that Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Patrice Evra created at Old Trafford - and in the game as a whole - acts an an inspiration to him.

The Italian has paid tribute to the achievements of both ex-Reds and their stellar careers, in which they won numerous honours and made the respective right-back and left-back positions their own for years.

Darmian is one of the United's current full-backs and the summer signing from Torino spoke to ManUtd.com this month about his admiration for both Neville and Evra.

"They are two full-backs that have created football history, not only at Manchester United but in the world," declared the 26-year-old defender. "I’ve seen them both play, they have both been two very important pillars for United. They’ve contributed to the success of the club.

"Patrice played in Italy last season so I had the possibility of more contact with him. I played against him twice in the derbies [against Juventus], and in Italy he is proving to be a champion just like he was at United. Obviously, Gary Neville was captain at United and a legend at the club, the victories he had, the trophies he won... his story speaks volumes."

Asked how they rate alongside the great full-backs of the modern game, Darmian insists: "Making comparisons with other great players is always difficult. They are both champions. Instead of comparing them, it’s nicer to refer to them as idols to follow.

"They were so great it’s almost impossible to reach what they achieved, but they can be an incentive to always give more and always work to your best to try to at least get a bit closer to what they did.

"They’ve had a lot of success and become legends of a very important club, that’s probably their greatest achievement, all the trophies that they won here and having become points of reference of this club."