7 MAN UTD STARS WHO BEAT THE ODDS & THRIVED ELSEWHERE AFTER LEAVING

While plenty of former Manchester United players have struggled to find much success away from Old Trafford, others have thrived after leaving the club.

For every player who sharply declined after leaving United, there are some examples of players who actually improved upon leaving.

We’ve gone back throughout the club’s recent history and have found seven players who thrived elsewhere after leaving Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo

While nobody was surprised to see Ronaldo thrive after leaving for Real Madrid in 2009, there were significantly more doubts when he slinked out of Old Trafford for a second time 13 years later.

After looking every inch of his 37 years during his final months at Old Trafford and being dropped by Portugal during the 2022 World Cup, plenty concluded that Ronaldo was washed.

But the evergreen forward has scored 81 goals in 90 appearances for Al-Nassr since moving to Saudi Arabia and continues to score for the national team too.

Few United fans will think Erik ten Hag was wrong to cut Ronaldo loose two seasons ago, but United have struggled to replace his goals since.

Gerard Pique

The proud Catalan was a teenager and peripheral figure in United’s squad as they won the Premier League and Champions League in the 2007-08 season.

Since Pep Guardiola took him back to his boyhood club in 2008, he went on to have not a bad career.

A World Cup and European Championships won with his country, he also won the Champions League three times, La Liga nine times and the Copa Del Rey seven times at Barcelona, which includes two trebles.

Diego Forlan

Forlan had an absolutely exceptional career after leaving Old Trafford, where he only scored 10 Premier League goals from 63 appearances.

A legend for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, he went on to score 128 La Liga goals in seven seasons, winning the European Golden Shoe twice.

His record isn’t bad for his country, either. He won the Copa America with Uruguay in 2011 and was named the best player of the 2010 World Cup as he finished joint top scorer on their run to the semi-finals.

READ: When Diego Forlan scored a screamer & played without a shirt for Man Utd

Tim Howard

Howard was a regular between the sticks for United in the 2003-04 season, during those awkward few years between Fabian Barthez and Edwin van der Sar.

The American was by no means a disaster with the Red Devils, winning the FA Cup that year, but it was Everton where he really established himself as a more-than-decent Premier League shot-stopper. He spent nine years with the Toffees and made over 400 appearances.

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Scott McTominay

A player who was derided and celebrated in equal measure, McTominay popped up with several clutch goals for United but many felt he lacked the sufficient technique to return the club to greatness.

Even so, Ten Hag didn’t want to sell the Scotland international in the summer of 2024 and only approved his move to Napoli to satisfy financial fair play regulations.

As United have continued to struggle, McTominay has become a cult hero in Naples thanks to his goalscoring abilities and throwing himself into life in Italy. Fair play.

Memphis Depay

Depay provided a few flashes of his quality but failed to establish himself as a first-team regular at Old Trafford, scoring just two goals in 33 Premier League appearances.

The forward joined Lyon in January 2017 and started to fulfil his undoubted potential after moving to France, helping the Ligue 1 side reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2019-20.

He registered 76 goals and 55 assists for the club before joining Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer of 2021.

Just like with Van Gaal at United, it was his former Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman that brought him to Camp Nou.

While he had an up-and-down time of it at Barcelona, he showed some real flashes of quality and continues to produce the goods for the Netherlands.

A spell at Atletico Madrid followed and you can now find Depay playing in Brazil for Corinthians.

Jonny Evans

A United stalwart during the last years of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, Evans left United in 2015 and became a high-operating defender at both West Brom and Leicester.

With his former club spending years and money struggling to find competent centre-backs, the Northern Irishman built a reputation as one of the most dependable defenders in the Premier League.

It shouldn’t really have been a surprise that Evans proved to be excellent upon returning to United in 2023, given his years of quiet competence. Perhaps he should never have been sold.

2025-01-14T10:17:18Z