Ryan Giggs, "The first time I felt concerned about Chelsea was when I heard that Robben had chosen them over us. He was the second player to do that - Damien Duff also went there when he could've come to Old Trafford. That worried me a lot. Chelsea could offer players as much money as they liked.
"We talk about it as players at United. We followed the Essien transfer and there are times when you moan about them buying someone else like that for another £25m. You can't help it. But I actually think our best players are better than theirs. And Arsenal, who are so dangerous going forward with so many quality players, are right up there. If you look at each of our first teams then it's very tight between the three clubs.
"Squad-wise, it's different. When injuries and suspensions kick in, Chelsea have much better cover. They've not only got two good players for each position - they've got world-class footballers in reserve. Their squad is far superior to ours and Arsenal's and probably anyone else in the world.
"On paper you'd have to say they'd be expected to win it again - but we've always believed that, historically, it's hard to defend your championship. I think there'll be a couple of defeats in the end for whoever becomes champions. We saw on the opening day how Wigan stretched Chelsea. That was encouraging.”
Looking back on last season’s FA Cup Final, Giggs said, "It was weird because we made a very good team look ordinary. But we still had to watch them cavorting around with the cup. We tried to say 'stuff it, let's still have a great night', but everyone kept saying 'how the hell did we lose?' It hit the young lads hard - I went up to Rooney, Ronaldo and Fletcher and told them they'd been brilliant and that the way we had played should give us optimism for this season.”
Despite not having a place in the starting line up this season, Giggs still has faith in himself, "I've still got great belief in my own ability. Last season was up and down and I started this one with a chest infection, but I'll soon be back to my best.”
Giggs admits that the contract delay affected him, "That disappointed me at the time. I had pushed the boat out by asking for three more years - but in the end we settled on two and that only took a couple of meetings."
However he can also understand fans’ reaction to Rio’s delay, "It wasn't a great thing to have hanging over our heads, with the fans booing him, so I'm glad it's over. I was never sure if it was really about money but friends who've known me a long time would ring up and say, 'Is it true what Rio wants?' I didn't know but I understood their reaction. When they read what Rio's making a week they'd say, 'Shit, I won't earn that in three or four years.'
And the reaction to the Glazer takeover? "You understand their concern. Fans are passionate and they feel something's happening which is not for the good of their team. My gut-reaction was that it would never happen - [Glazer] was just too far away - but of course I was wrong.
"It's weird. We're right in the middle of it but we don't really think about it. We met in pre-season in Portugal but we just said hello. The players hardly ever talk about it. They're too busy taking the piss out of each other's clothes and haircuts."