Former Man Utd star Ben Foster explains why he 'hated every second' of playing for the club

Former Man Utd star Ben Foster explains why he 'hated every second' of playing for the club

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Ben Foster discusses his Man Utd career

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 23/02/2024

- 20:40

The ex-England international was overcome by nerves playing under Sir Alex Ferguson

Ben Foster has revealed that he 'hated every second' of his time playing for Manchester United.

The former goalkeeper spent five years on the books at Old Trafford but couldn't deal with the pressure of playing for a club of that stature.


Foster had a hugely successful career in the Premier League, making over 350 appearances, and also won eight caps for England.

However, there was a period early in his playing days that he doesn't look back on with much fondness.

Ben Foster

Man Utd news: Ben Foster says he hated his time at Manchester United

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United signed Foster from Stoke in July 2005, paying a £1million fee for the then 22-year-old shot-stopper.

He had two fruitful loan spells at Watford before eventually making his first-team debut for the Red Devils in March 2008.

Foster was never a regular and was understudy to Edwin van der Sar for most of his time with the first team.

He did win the League Cup on two occasions under Sir Alex Ferguson, and was man of the match in the 2009 penalty shootout win over Tottenham.

But Foster has now spoken candidly about the personal struggles he faces when he was at United.

He claims nerves often got the better of him and he would be scared of the reaction if he made a mistake.

Foster said on talkSPORT: "I look back at that person who played for Manchester United back then, and it's not me, honestly.

"I was so wet behind the ears, I didn't understand how anything worked in life really, I used to just look around.

"You [Andy Goldstein] said to me, 'It must be incredible, it must have been amazing,' and it wasn't.

"I hated every second of it. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it.

"I was nervous, I was petrified of making a mistake, petrified of what the outside world would say about it. And that's a bad way to go about it, isn't it?

"When you go to games thinking and fearing the worst, 'Don't make a mistake,' you're off to a bad start straight away.

"I'd look around at some of these big names around me, and I'd just think, 'How have I got here?'"

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Ben Foster

Man Utd news: Ben Foster won the League Cup on two occasions with United

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Foster left United to join Birmingham in the summer of 2010 and won the League Cup for a third time in his first season.

The Blues beat Arsenal 2-1 in the final at Wembley, with Obafemi Martins scoring the memorable late winner.

Foster admits he holds that victory higher than the two he achieved at United.

He said: "We were underdogs to win it, we were 16-1.

Ben Foster

Man Utd news: Ben Foster holds his 2011 League Cup win in higher esteem

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"We won the game, we were fighting relegation, they were right at the top, they had Cesc Fabregas [Robin] Van Persie, Jack Wilshere...

"And we went and won the game 2-1, and you could just really enjoy it, you knew what it meant to those Birmingham fans, it just felt a little bit more special."

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