Wilfried Zaha says he was not willing to let his difficult spell at Manchester United derail his career.
Zaha joined United in 2013 but only made four appearances for the club, while he was twice sent out on loan.
The Galatasaray forward, 30, faces United in the Champions League on Tuesday and was asked if his time at Old Trafford bothers him.
“I’ll be honest, when you look at my face do you think I am bothered at all? No,” Zaha said.
“I went through a phase in my career, you either build from it or die. It built my character. I was determined not to let my career die out.”
Sir Alex Ferguson signed Zaha for United, but by the time the Ivory Coast winger arrived at Old Trafford David Moyes had replaced his fellow Scot in the dugout.
Zaha failed to impress Moyes and, after a loan spell at Cardiff, could not convince Louis van Gaal to give him a chance either.
After a loan move to his former club Crystal Palace, Zaha made a permanent return to the Eagles in 2015 and went on to score 68 goals in 291 Premier League appearances during his second spell.
One of those goals was during a 1-0 win for Palace against United in 2020, but Zaha says he treated the game like any other.
“It was just a normal league game,” he said. “I had my past here but I was 19 or 20. When I went back to Palace and had league games against them, it was just work. I felt no different.”
Zaha moved to Galatasaray this summer following the expiration of his Palace contract and has scored one goal in six appearances for the Turkish champions so far.
United opened their Champions League campaign with a 4-3 defeat at Bayern Munich, while Galatasaray drew 2-2 with Copenhagen.
