Matic on how life was tough with rubbish pitch... and no toilet

SOME footballers forget their roots because of fame and fortune – but not Nemanja Matic.

Matic could not be more proud of his humble origins in the village of Vrelo in western Serbia.

The Manchester United midfielder grew up against the backdrop of the Balkans War in the 1990s and enjoyed few luxuries as a kid.

His school did not have a toilet and he and his classmates had to relieve themselves in the nearby woods.

Vrelo was the starting point for a journey, which took Matic to Kosice in Slovakia, Chelsea twice, Vitesse Arnhem and Benfica before he arrived at Old Trafford in 2017 and he has never forgotten his roots.

He set up and co-owns local side Vrelo Sport and has funded pitches and much-needed improvements to his old school.

“When I grew up I didn’t have a proper pitch to train on, the pitch was horrible, next to the cemetery,” recalls Matic.

“It was not a pitch, they just put the goals and the lines there and called it a pitch.

“So I wanted to make a good pitch for kids, so that they can train, that they can improve.

“If someone wants to play football, then they have good conditions.

“And, of course, I wanted to help the school, it is most important to have a good school. When I was in school we did not even have a toilet in the school. You had to go outside somewhere in the forest.

“I felt like it is my obligation because the kids there, they deserve to have better conditions for everything, for school, for training and a playground for small kids.

“So I try to help them. because I can.

“At United, Chelsea or Arsenal for example, we earn a lot of money and some of that money we need to spend for the future because many of those kids will be future stars.”

Matic, 32, is loved in Vrelo and the village of 1,500 people has named a street in his honour.

He regularly returns to visit his family and friends and plans to move back when his playing career is over.

Matic was back this summer and must quarantine

I do that for 14 days under the Government’s coronavirus rules because he has just retired from international football and is not exempt as an elite athlete.

Matic recently signed a three-year deal at United, claiming they are the third best-supported team in Serbia.

He always liked them and United great Nemanja Vidic was born close to where he grew up in Serbia.

“In Serbia, United is very popular,” he told the club’s UTD Podcast.

“It is probably, after Red Star and Partizan, the third club.

“If you look at how many supporters they have, Red Star is number one, Partizan is second and United is third.

“When I got the opportunity to come here I wanted to play for United, probably the biggest club in England and one of the best clubs in the world.

“It was easy to make decision. When you get the chance to go and play for Manchester

United I think you have to take it.” the