Rojo's Journey To United

The story of Marcos Rojo's rise from a poor neighbourhood in La Plata to Manchester United is told in El Diablo Rojo, MUTV's insightful documentary on the Argentina international.

Rojo had to cycle to training with Estudiantes, a round trip of around 20 kilometres, and made a number of sacrifices in order to realise his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

Amazing archived footage of the defender taking his first steps in the game as a child are combined with interviews conducted with some of the major figures in his life and career, including the man himself.

"It is difficult in Argentina to get out of my neighbourhood," said Rojo. "It is a poor neighbourhood. At the time, my dad didn't have a car or anything and training wasn't very close to our house. So we had to go by bicycle. We both went by bike for a long time. My dad used to sell things on the street and he would come back to pick me up. It was quite a long trip and I would get pretty warm!"

Marcos Rojo Snr, nicknamed 'Titi', was a former amateur player with El Cruce and helped push his son into the game at a young age.

"I could see his passion," said Rojo Snr. "I could see it in him and I could see myself in him because he would go after every ball. He was always different to the other boys of his age."

Estudiantes youth coach Gabriel San Millan recognised the schoolboy's potential and helped develop his talent at his first professional club.

"Technically, he was a good player," said San Millan. "He had good skills and a good base. But the thing that always stood out about him was that desire to always do better. His evolution as a player was incredible. When he was 18 or 19, he began to develop physically."

Following moves to Spartak Moscow and Sporting Lisbon, he really made his mark at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil as Argentina went all the way to the final before losing narrowly to Germany.

"The truth is that my life changed completely after the World Cup," he admitted. "Manchester United were on tour in the USA and they said that when they came back, they had me in mind but they still didn't know. I had to wait.

"When they said that to me, I couldn't believe it. I was celebrating, jumping around the house with my wife. It was incredible for Manchester United to be interested in me. For it to be so real, it was so exciting."