UTD Podcast: The only time Saha cried in his career
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has revealed the only time he cried during his football career was when he was forced out of the 2008 Champions League final.
In our latest episode of UTD Podcast, the Frenchman recalls his playing days with presenters Helen Evans, Sam Homewood and David May, including the story of how he came to join Manchester United from Fulham in January 2004.
You can listen to the entire series by downloading it from our official music partner Deezer and all of your favourite podcast apps.
UTD Podcast: What made Saha cry in 2008?
How does it feel to miss a Champions League final? Louis Saha pulls no punches in his admirably honest UTD Podcast...
The painful memory relates the the 2008 Champions League final, as United took on Chelsea in Moscow for the right to be crowned kings of Europe.
Saha had been on the bench for the final game of the Premier League campaign, at Wigan Athletic, but was left out of the squad on the big night in Russia, after picking up an injury. When Sir Alex Ferguson delivered the news he feared, it was a huge setback for the striker.
“The Champions League final was the worst moment in my life as a footballer," he says. "The only moment I cried. So you understand what I'm saying. That was how much emotion was going through me.
“I've the opportunity to be on that stage and God has taken that. It was absolutely crazy. I couldn't forgive him at that moment. I couldn't and this is strong. I am very religious in some ways and I couldn't understand.
“That is something so special for you as a footballer, the Champions League final.
"I felt I had participated and wanted to be part of that final," he adds. "The manager wanted me in that squad because he felt I was the perfect tool to destroy Chelsea. I scored 13 goals against them so it would have been a very nice story, I would say. But it wasn't to be.
“I remember this as the most painful moment in my career. I had worked so hard to come back and, a few days before the final, I get that little thing that disappears maybe 10 days after.
“It was just a joke."
UTD Podcast: How Saha joined United
In the new UTD Podcast, Louis explains why he had to "force" through his 2004 transfer from Fulham to Old Trafford...
Download the full Louis Saha episode on Deezer.
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