Morgan Schneiderlin has told L'Equipe that playing for Louis van Gaal's Manchester United made him feel "like a robot."
Schneiderlin was signed from Southampton for £24 million by United in 2015 but was sold to Everton 18 months later by Jose Mourinho after failing to break into his XI on a regular basis.
The midfielder has spoken negatively about his experience of playing at Old Trafford and said he "didn't take any pleasure" from his time with the club.
"That first year with Louis van Gaal sticks in my throat a bit," he said. "I didn't enjoy myself at all on the pitch. He left me very little freedom in my game, even though I have quite a lot of Premier League experience.
"With him, I had the impression of playing like a robot. I was told: 'You must never go and look for the ball in this area of the pitch, you must not do this, that...' Those instructions perhaps disturbed me a bit.
"When a player asks himself during a game, 'But what does the coach want me to do in this situation?' he starts to perform less well. Especially at Manchester United in a context where all the matches are scrutinised by the media and where you can quickly be criticised from everywhere."
ESPN FC's French football correspondent Ian Holyman contributed to this report.