In 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo paid a then-record £12.24 million to join Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon. This was a record fee for a teenage player at the time.
Ronaldo made his debut for this club on August 16, 2003, when he replaced Nicky Butt in the 61st minute of Manchester United’s 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League opener.
Former colleagues of the Portuguese superstar have all bid farewell to the pitch as of this point. The majority pursue careers as coaches, while the remainder is destined to become football specialists.
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard
Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, the American custodian signed Manchester United in 2003. He spent three seasons with the club before transferring to Everton on loan and then signing a permanent deal with the Toffees when his contract expired. alongside the Red Devils.
He played there for nine years before moving to the MLS’s Colorado Rapids. Howard announced his retirement in 2019 and subsequently became the proprietor and sporting director of Memphis 901 FC.
Defender: Phil Neville
Neville is a product of the training camp at Manchester United. In 1994, he had the opportunity to make his début with the first team, which he remained with until 2005. The player played for Everton for the next eight seasons before retiring in 2013.
Neville worked as an assistant for the England U21 team after his retirement. He became manager of Salford City alongside Paul Scholes in 2015.
In 2018, the former competitor became the British wомen‘s team captain. Currently, Neville serves as a coach for Inter Miami.
Centre-back: Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand is one of the all-time greatest English midfielders. In 2002, he transferred from Leeds United to Manchester United for a then-record £30 million.
Before joining Queens Park Rangers in 2014, Ferdinand was with the club for 12 years.
The following year, he proclaimed his retirement and became a commentator for Sky Sports.
Centre-back: Mikael Silvestre
French midfielder who moved from Inter Milan to Manchester United in 1999. He played for the team for nine seasons before moving on to Arsenal, Werder Bremen, and the Portland Timbers, among others.
Mikael Silvestre proclaimed his retirement from playing in 2014.
Silvestre is the Football Director of Sports Invest UK at present.
Defender: Quinton Fortune
South African player for Manchester United from 1999 to 2006. Quinton Fortune is a versatile athlete capable of playing as both a midfielder and a defender.
Fortune has played for several organizations besides Manchester United, including Atletico Madrid and Bolton Wanderers.
The player announced his retirement in 2010 after a season with Doncaster Rovers. The player bids farewell to their vocation and turns to the coach.
Midfielder: Roy Keane
Keane is a former captain of Manchester United and one of the club’s finest legends. Between 1993 and 2005, he played for the Red Devils before transferring to Celtic and retiring in 2006.
Shortly after his retirement, Keane became a coach for Sunderland. He moved to oversee Ipswich Town in 2009.
The midfielder served as an assistant for the Republic of Ireland national team from 2013 to 2018. Keane currently serves as a football expert and commentator.
Midfielder: Nicky Butt
Nicky Butt is a legendary member of MU’s 92nd golden generation. Prior to joining Newcastle United in 2004, he spent the first 12 years of his tenure with Manchester United.
In 2011, Butt decided to retire and return to MU as the U23 team’s interim coach. In March of 2021, he once again bid this team farewell.
Midfielder: Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes attended the Carrington Academy as a youth and devoted his entire career to Manchester United.
Scholes, along with former Generation 92 players such as Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, and Gary Neville, purchased Salford City Club after his retirement in 2013. However, in September 2014, they transferred fifty percent of their shares to Peter Lim, a Singaporean businessman.
In 2015, Scholes joined Phil Neville on the leadership staff of Salford City. Two years later, he was appointed Technical Advisor of the Vietnam PVF Football Academy.
In February 2019, the former England player also became the manager of Oldham Athletic, but he resigned within a month. In October 2020, Scholes took over as interim manager of Salford until November 2020, when Richie Vellen was named head coach.
Winger: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
In 1996, the former manager of Manchester United joined the club as a footballer. Ole spent eleven seasons with United before retiring in 2007.
After Jose Mourinho’s dismissal in December 2018, the former Norwegian player returned to Manchester United as first-team coach. In 2021, however, Solskjaer was fired after receiving a great deal of criticism.
Centre: Ruud van Nistelrooy
In 2001, the legendary Dutch forward joined the Red Devils from PSV. He remained with the squad for five years before leaving in 2006 to join Real Madrid.
Ruud van Nistelrooy spent the final two seasons of his career playing for Hamburg and Malaga, respectively. He officially proclaimed his retirement in 2012.
From 2014 to 2016, Nistelrooy was the assistant coach of the Dutch national team. The following year, he agreed to command the PSV U19 team but returned to the national team as an assistant shortly thereafter.
Winger: Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs grew up in Manchester United’s junior academy and devoted his entire career to this team. With 936 appearances for the Red Devils over 24 years, the Welsh legend became the player with the most appearances in history.
Giggs was named player-manager of Manchester United for the final four games of the 2013/14 season after David Moyes was dismissed. This was also his final season as a professional athlete.
After his retirement, he became Louis van Gaal’s assistant coach and remained in this position for the next two seasons. Giggs was appointed Football Director of PVF in Vietnam in 2017.
Giggs was named manager of the Wales national team in 2018. However, he was ϲомpеllеԀ to quit his job in April 2021 due to personal reasons.
Sub: Eric Djemba-Djemba
Midfielder from Cameroon who played for Manchester United for two seasons (2003-2005). Djemba-Djemba subsequently played for Aston Villa, Qatar SC, and Chennaiyin FC.
In 2016, after spending a season in Chateaubriant (France), he decided to resign.
Sub: Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese legend played for Manchester United for six seasons between 2003 and 2009 before moving to Real Madrid. During his nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, the 1985-born striker established himself as a global superstar.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 on a contract worth up to 100 million euros. In the summer of 2021, after spending three seasons in Turin, the Portuguese superstar will return to Old Trafford.
Regardless of his explosive moments, Ronaldo was unable to surmount the pressure of time. After criticizing Manchester United at the end of 2022, he decided to quit the Red Devils and join the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
Sub: Diego Forlan
The Uruguayan legend only spent two seasons with Manchester United, from 2002 to 2004. Before retiring, he played for Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Mumbai City FC, and Kitchee SC.
In 2019, Forlan was named Penarol’s head coach, but he was dismissed in September 2020. This former player will now command Atletico Atenas beginning in 2021.