Alexander Buttner: 'Homesickness almost caused Manchester United exit'

Manchester United defender Alexander Buttner has revealed that he could have quit the Red Devils last season due to homesickness.

The left-back joined United last year from Vitesse Arnhem in a £4m deal but struggled to break into the first team at Old Trafford.

Buttner told The Sun: "I now know about homesickness. I'd think about my family and friends at home many times, how they were, what they were doing, little things like that.

"I did not give up and I have my girlfriend Laura and brother Denny to thank for that. I'm a fighter. But had I been on my own, I'd have got on a plane back to Holland a long time ago."

Buttner made just 13 appearances for United last season.