Cristiano Ronaldo is the latest in a long line of stars to leave Old Trafford in Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. We look at some more big exits.
Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis
Ferguson caused uproar when he axed the above trio after United finished runners-up in the 1994/95 Premier League season. Their exit paved the way for Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and David Beckham to establish themselves and, despite claims that "you win nothing with kids", United won a domestic double the following season.
Eric Cantona
Having gone to the ends of the earth to keep the enigmatic Frenchman at Old Trafford after his kung-fu controversy, there was nothing Ferguson could do to change Cantona's mind when he decided to quit the game in 1997 aged 30. Although United lost their league title to Arsenal, they bounced back to win a remarkable treble in 1998/99 with Dwight Yorke partnering Andy Cole up front.
Peter Schmeichel
Possibly United's greatest goalkeeper, the Dane left for Sporting Lisbon in summer 1999 and later returned to the Premier League with Aston Villa and Manchester City. Attempts to replace him with, among others, Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi and Roy Carroll failed, but Edwin van der Sar eventually stepped into the breach in 2005 as a worthy successor to Schmeichel.
David Beckham (pictured)
Ronaldo's predecessor on the right wing for United left in similar circumstances. A breakdown in his relationship with Ferguson - accelerated by a stray football boot to the face - saw him sold to Real Madrid for £25m as the last of Florentino Perez's original 'Galacticos'. Ronaldo replaced him with aplomb and United have now won three consecutive Premier League titles.
Roy Keane
The fiery Irishman's departure was most important in its symbolism, since age and injury has reduced Keane to a shadow of his former self on the pitch. A series of rants against his own team-mates proved too much for Ferguson, who packed his captain off to Celtic. United signed Owen Hargreaves as replacement, but Keane's heir now seems to be one of the players he criticised, Darren Fletcher.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
The Dutchman's stunning record of 150 goals in 219 appearances made the decision to sell him to Real in 2006 particularly gutsy. Van Nistelrooy was another player to cross Ferguson, who used his exit to introduce a more mobile front line using versatile players like Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. Van Nistelrooy scored 63 in 93 for Real before suffering the third major knee injury of his career.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the latest in a long line of stars to leave Old Trafford in Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. We look at some more big exits.
Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis
Ferguson caused uproar when he axed the above trio after United finished runners-up in the 1994/95 Premier League season. Their exit paved the way for Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and David Beckham to establish themselves and, despite claims that "you win nothing with kids", United won a domestic double the following season.
No comments:
Post a Comment