MATTEO DARMIAN wants to bring a flavour of the Manchester derby to Saturday’s Champions League final.
The Inter Milan defender, 33, is one of three former Manchester United players preparing to face Manchester City in Istanbul this weekend.
GettyMatteo Darmian has revitalised his career at Inter Milan[/caption]
Darmian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and striker Romelu Lukaku will all be facing their former rivals this weekend.
And the Italy international admitted that his history with the Red Devils will add a little extra spice to the contest.
Darmian said: “It is probably extra motivation and that is it, we need to be ready and try to do our game to beat them. It will not be easy but we will try.
“Playing the derby is always a special feeling, always a special game.
“They are different from other games, the atmosphere is different so it will be good to play against Manchester City.
“For me it is like a derby.”
Darmian made a total of 92 Manchester United appearances, scoring once, and played in four Manchester derbies during his time in the Premier League.
United won just one of those four, a 1-0 victory at The Etihad in 2016 when Marcus Rashford bagged the winner against Manuel Pellegrini’s City.
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Darmian left Old Trafford for Parma in 2019 in a deal worth just £1.4million, before joining Inter on loan in 2020 and making the move permanent a year later.
Having struggled during his time with Manchester United, Darmian has featured in 31 Serie A games this season and has started every single knockout game on the way to Saturday’s final.
And while the defender concedes that Simone Inzaghi’s side are facing the world’s best in Istanbul, the former Torino man warned that Inter are more than capable of hurting City.
He added: “Manchester City are the best team in the world at the moment and they beat two very good teams. We have to think of ourselves and try to show our quality.
“We are strong and we have the quality to beat them.”
JCairnduffDarmian chases David Silva during his Man United days[/caption] Read More