Soccer-Tielemans ready for Man Utd challenge after disappointing end to World Cup campaign


Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Quarter Final - Spain v Belgium - Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, California, U.S. - July 10, 2026 Belgium's Youri Tielemans before the match REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Belgium midfielder ⁠Youri Tielemans is ready to leave behind a disappointing end ⁠to the World Cup as he embraces life at his ‌new club, Manchester United.

Tielemans, who joined United from Aston Villa last month, captained Belgium to the quarter-finals but the 29-year-old had to pull out of the last-eight ​clash with eventual champions Spain.

"In the warm-up, ⁠my body just switched off ⁠for some reason," Tielemans told the BBC in an interview published on ⁠Wednesday.

The ‌former Anderlecht, Monaco and Leicester City player cited heavy workload as the reason behind him pulling out.

"When I am ⁠good, I am good. When it does not ​go well, I will ‌know straight away and I will alert the manager. But ⁠it does ​not happen often," he added.

However, Tielemans said he feels good at United after three years at Villa, which ended with a Europa League title.

"I ⁠am very thankful to Aston Villa. I owe ​them the world. It is a great club, we did amazing things and they have put me back to my best level. But ⁠there are clubs above Villa, and Manchester United is one of them," he said.

Tielemans was confident of meeting the demands of United manager Michael Carrick for the upcoming season.

"He wants me to be free ​on the pitch, to try and organise ⁠the team the best I can," he said.

"It is just smelling football, ​which is what I have been doing ‌from when I was young at ​Anderlecht."

United begin their Premier League campaign at Hull City on August 22.

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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