"I did have a little period in my last season with United when I thought stopping would not be a bad thing.
"I questioned myself, saying ‘Come on, I'll go home to my village, live my life in peace’.
"My third and last season with United was the hardest. I was really tired, especially in my head.
"I had played flat-out for 10 years. My third year with United was not fantastic but it was reasonable.
"The body and the mind set their limits. The next time I feel how I did 18 months ago will be the right moment to quit the game."
Barthez actually thanks Fergie for letting him go home after choosing Howard and Roy Carroll ahead of him.
"He told me he didn’t want to see photos of me in the stand, that I had a wife and child and would be more useful in France than there."
"I have had no explanation because I’m not the sort to ask. I always wait for the manager to come to me, because he is the boss.
"He has his reasons and I don’t seek to know. Ferguson is someone I respect enormously. He was always honest with me.
"He has never held the Champions League elimination by Real against me.
"I have spoken to him two or three times on the phone since I left. I was calling the club for various bits of admin and, when he was near the secretary, she put him on.
"He congratulated me after my first match for Marseille. There’s no problem between us.
"I didn’t look to leave. I continued to do my job normally. I had a free hand to work as I liked at United.
"He saw I was working hard. He has eyes everywhere. Nothing escapes him at United, nor in England.
"It wasn’t a punishment. It was a managerial decision that does not prevent mutual respect. When the offer from Marseille came in, he told me ‘Go ahead, you deserve it’."