Darmian, now 34, concedes he found his move a "different world" compared to what he had been used to with former club Torino.
"When I signed for Manchester United, I discovered that in England, during away games, family members don’t have a reserved section; they sit among the fans,” Darmian told Cronache di Spogliatoio.
“The first match was the derby against Liverpool…
“I told my girlfriend, ‘Look, it’s a very intense match. Do you still want to come?’ And she said, ‘Yes, of course! I really care.’ So, she got in the car with the steering wheel on the right and went into the away section.
“For a footballer, the English football culture brings less pressure. During the week, there’s less talk about football; the weekend and the experience of going to the stadium are more important.”
But he also revealed, “As soon as I arrived in Manchester, I discovered a completely new world.
“In Italy, very few players had social media profiles. In England, on my first day, they immediately told me to open an Instagram account and that I would need to participate in commercial initiatives.
“What now seems normal wasn’t back then. There were so many commercial activities; it was a completely different world from what I was used to. In the following years, Pogba and Ibrahimovic also arrived, and they were media superstars.”
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