Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha said he couldn’t enjoy his football career at Manchester United because of the rumour that he was having sex with Lauren, the daughter of David Moyes, the couch of the club at the time.
Zaha joined Manchester United from Crystal Palace in 2013 for an initial transfer fee of £10 million. He was the last transfer, Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary coach of United from Scotland, oversaw before he retired from coaching. He was replaced by his countryman, David Moyes that same year.
The 2013-2014 football season ought to have been Wilfried Zaha’s first full-fledged season at United under David Moyes but it was not to be. The Ivorian international who was just 19-year-old then spent part of the season on loan at Cardiff City.
Afterwards, the skilful forward had to return to Crystal Palace on loan. He later made the loan deal permanent in February 2015. Hence, he only managed to play for Manchester United twice before he finally returned to where he started his football career.
Wilfried Zaha said he suffered such an experience because of the rumour that he was sleeping with Moyes’ daughter. He said the rumour started when people were surprised that Moyes wasn’t playing him at the club. Then, they come up with the assumption that he was having sex with Lauren.
Manchester United didn’t defend Wilfried Zaha
The 27-year-old Crystal Palace forward said he was shocked when he checked on Twitter then and saw that the rumour was already trending and people were attacking him with comments related to the rumour.
He lamented on how Manchester United as a club failed to defend him and allowed him to fight through it alone at such an age, in a city where he had no one to talk to.
“No one at the club at all told me anything, I didn’t know what to do whatsoever,” Zaha said in a chat with Rio Ferdinand. “I remember tweeting something about it saying ‘silly rumours’ because it was getting too much, so I had to say something myself and then I remember the club media messaging me saying ‘you shouldn’t have done that, you shouldn’t have done this’ and I’m thinking ‘you haven’t helped me.’
“I’m here by myself, struggling because people are telling me I’ve slept with the manager’s daughter and that’s why you’re not playing me.
“The funny thing is, it’s carried on for so long I felt like, is the manager not going to come and have a word with me over this? That’s how I felt and I’m thinking this is a ridiculous man. Up to this day, I still get people that think that’s true and I’ve never even met his daughter.
“People came out with it, I see it trending on Twitter, people came out with how can he play so well on tour then just be dashed out like that with nothing, no one telling us anything – he must have slept with the manager’s daughter. And that started going and I’m 19, and my Twitter is blowing up. I’ve never had it before and my Twitter is blowing up and there’s no one for me to speak to.”
