FORMER Manchester United midfielder Irene Guerrero has opened up on her time with the club, saying there were days where she “had to go into the bathroom to cry” during training.

The 27-year-old joined United in September 2023, having been part of the Spain squad that won that summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The season that followed, disrupted early on by a knee injury, saw the ex-Atletico Madrid player make only seven appearances in all competitions for Marc Skinner’s side, starting just once, and she subsequently left to sign for Mexican team America in July.

Guerrero told Marca: “I did everything in my power to get a chance, but when the weeks go by and you don’t get it, you see how small you are.

“When I returned to training in January [after the injury], I had minutes in some games between January and March, but then there is a period where I don’t play at all.

“I fully understand that a coach may like one profile of player more than another and that’s absolutely fine, but being denied the opportunity to show your level or potential and then see if it fits into your game model or not …

“It was difficult for me to accept at that time. I asked myself. ‘Why are you coming to sign me, pay a transfer fee and give a player in exchange if you don’t count on me later?’ Mentally reconciling that was not easy.

“The support I had from my family and my partner helped me to see the positive side and get down to work. When I hit rock bottom I started to approach it in a different way.

“I had moments of weakness, of not understanding why I had left a place where I was doing well and believed I could compete to go to a club where they were denying me as a footballer.

“I learned another facet of football, but I took with me very good team-mates who made me feel at home and an experience that forges you as a person and as an athlete.

“I remember days when, halfway through training, I had to go into the bathroom to cry, wash my face and come out as if nothing had happened. I tried not to let anyone notice and not to affect the team, but I had a very important, very hard mental limit.

“I also went through moments of sending everything to hell, especially when I got home and said to my partner, ‘I want to go home, I don’t want to be here. I’m not enjoying myself, I’m not happy and I feel like everything I’ve sacrificed to come to another country is not worth it. The reward for the effort and work I’m doing on a day-to-day basis is zero.’”

Guerrero emphasised her gratitude for people around her who “did not let me throw in the towel,” adding: “I focused on working harder. I trained with the team in the morning and in the afternoon I went to the gym to be stronger and better prepare myself for what might come in the future.

“I wanted to be ready both mentally and physically to be able to show that Irene Guerrero is still around for a long time.”

United declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency.