Diogo Dalot admits that Manchester United being out of Europe for only the second time in 35 years has made this season more painful than any other since he arrived at Old Trafford.
After losing the Europa League final to Tottenham in Bilbao last May, United have had to sit by and watch their biggest rivals in Champions League action during long midweeks of inactivity.
To make matters worse, United also crashed out of both cup competitions to Grimsby and Brighton. It means the club will only play a total of 40 games, their shortest campaign since the First World War.
Meanwhile, neighbours Manchester City won the Carabao Cup for the fifth time in 10 years under Pep Guardiola last weekend, and are still in contention for the FA Cup after reaching the quarter-finals with another three of the Big Six clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
United are on course to return to the Champions League next season after moving up to third place in the Premier League under Michael Carrick, and it cannot come soon enough for Dalot.
‘It’s hurt to see our Premier League rivals involved in the Champions League and cup finals,’ said the Portugal defender. ‘Personally, I think this has been the most difficult season in that aspect – being at home watching everyone else play while we are just training.
‘It’s nowhere near where this club should be. However, it gives you even more hunger and a sense of responsibility to ensure that when we are back in those competitions. We never take those moments for granted.’
Dalot, 27, has been at United for eight years since joining the club for £19million from FC Porto and rates the Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle in 2023 as the highlight of his Old Trafford career.
‘I’ve had quite a journey since signing for Manchester United in 2018, but my favourite memory will always be the first time I won a trophy for the club,’ added Dalot, who also won the FA Cup when United beat City the following year.
‘That feeling is exactly why you sign for United: to win trophies and compete in the best competitions. It was the first time I really felt, ‘okay, this is how it feels to win for this club’, and it acted like an unlock that made me want to win even more.’
Dalot was speaking on behalf of the DHL Express ‘Delivering Dreams’ campaign after United teamed up with their official logistics partner to provide an all-weather training pitch to the isolated community of Mae Suek in Thailand.
Home to 11 villages and 11,577 people – 85 per cent of whom are United fans – it is geographically one of the most remote communities in the world, located 140km and more than four hours from the nearest major city Chiang Mai, and a two-and-a-half-hour round trip from the nearest functional football pitch.
Extreme weather often renders the local fields unusable but the 4G turf – similar to what is used at United’s Carrington training base – will enable more than 1,000 children from two schools and three neighbouring villages to access to training facilities every day whatever the conditions.
Former United defender Patrice Evra led the first training session at the facility at Jericho Farm which will host regional tournaments throughout the year.
Dalot said: ‘The Delivering Dreams campaign provides such a beautiful pitch for a lot of kids and the wider community to enjoy. They previously had to travel a couple of hours to be able to play football on a professional standard pitch, so we’re very happy to be a part of changing that.
‘When you want to be a football player, you have to start somewhere. This gesture can help provide a dream to a lot of kids who would like to be in the position that I am today.
‘If they don’t have a pitch to play on or a facility where they can be happy and enjoy this beautiful sport, it makes achieving those dreams even more difficult.
‘It’s a remarkable campaign, and it would be an amazing experience for us to one day hear that a future Manchester United player started their career because of this help.
‘For me, everything started on small pitches. In my hometown, I grew up playing on small concrete courts with goals that had no nets. If we didn’t have goals, we would just use two water bottles to mark the posts. You always find a way to make it work because the beautiful side of football is just wanting to play and enjoy the sport.
‘When I think back to those days, I can only imagine how happy the community will be when they see a brand-new football pitch that looks as beautiful as this one will.’
DHL Express, the Official Logistics Partner of Manchester United, delivered a professional-grade, all-weather football pitch to Mae Suek, Thailand, for the ‘Delivering Dreams’ campaign.
Find out more here: https://inmotion.dhl/en/manchester-united/delivering-dreams
