10. Name: Rodrigo Possebon / Previous Club: Nautico / Transfer Fee: £3 million
The Brazilian-Italian was considered as a highly promising defensive midfielder when he brought in during January 2008, but had to wait until the start of next season to get his debut for the club. During a League Cup match, Emanuel Pogatetz received a straight red card for his challenge on Rodrigo Possebon, with United first fearing that had broken his leg, but it was later announced that this wasn’t the case. He was sent on loan to Braga originally for the entirety of the following season, but later returned to United as he fell out of favour and only made one appearance for the Portuguese club. After Possebon’s departure to Santos, he has struggled to settle at clubs and has somewhat dropped off the radar in terms of professional football.
9. Name: Dong Fangzhuo / Previous Club: Dalian Shide / Transfer Fee: £500,000
Fangzhuo Dong signed for Manchester United in January 2004, making the Chinese striker the first East Asian player to sign for United. But as he was ineligible for a work permit, meaning he was sent on loan to Royal Antwerp in Belgium. Dong finally obtained a work permit to play in England, because of the amount of caps he gained from playing for the Chinese national team, almost three years on from his signing. He only played 3 first team games over the course of two seasons, scoring no goals. At the start of the 2007-08 season, his contract was mutually terminated so he was able to find first team football. He then returned to Dalian Shide.
8. Name: David Bellion / Previous Club: Sunderland / Transfer Fee: £2 million
Despite David Bellion’s poor goals total for Sunderland over the course of two seasons, with only one goal to his name, he rejected Sunderland’s offer of a new contract and somehow managed to sign for Manchester United. Bellion’s opportunities were limited to mainly substitute appearances and only came up with 8 goals over a three year spell at the club. Since leaving United in 2006, he has stayed in his home country, France, as he went on to play for Nice, Bordeaux and is currently with third tier side Red Star 93.
7. Name: Eric Djemba-Djemba / Previous Club: Nantes / Transfer Fee: £3.5 million
The Cameroonian international only lasted 18 months at Old Trafford, after he was brought in to potentially be a long term replacement for Roy Keane, because of his supposed ball-winning ability. Eric Djemba-Djemba was declared bankrupt, when he made his move from United to Aston Villa, despite previously being on £18,000 per-week whilst at Old Trafford. After a number of brief stints at numerous clubs, he’s now playing for Persebaya Surabaya in the Indonesian Super League.
6. Name: Jose Kleberson / Previous Club: Atlético Paranaense / Transfer Fee: £6.5 million
Jose Kleberson’s performances in Brazil’s World cup winning side in 2002 increased European clubs interest. It was a year later that Kleberson signed for United, as a possible replacement for Sebastian Veron, who transferred to Chelsea. However he only played 16 games in his debut season and followed that up with 14 games in his second season. He then moved to Besiktas for two seasons before returning to Brazil. He know applies his trade in the states in their second tier with Indy Eleven.
5. Name: Juan Sebastian Veron / Previous Club: Lazio / Transfer Fee: £28 million
Juan Sebastian Veron achieved success In Italy, winning the Serie A, UEFA Cup and two Coppa Italia’s prior to his United move. His transfer from Lazio to United was the most expensive in English football at the time, but he never lived up to expectations. However, he was a consistently picked to play during the two seasons he was at Old Trafford. He made 40 appearances in his first season where he helped win the Premier League, and 42 appearances in his final season. Ferguson decided to cut his losses and sold Veron to Chelsea for £15 million. He only lasted one year at Stamford Bridge, before returning to the Serie A with Inter Milan. Veron retired three years ago, after spending his last 6 years of football at Estudiantes in his homeland of Argentina.
4. Name: Ralph Milne / Previous Club: Bristol City / Transfer Fee: £170,000
The transfer of Ralph Milne to United saw him make the jump from third to the first division, probably a jump too high for the Scotsman to handle. The vast majority of his appearances for the club came in his first season, playing in 29 games. The following season, he only played once before being given a free transfer, but didn’t play for another professional club after his United spell. Ferguson commented that Milne was his worst signing, saying “I only paid £170,000 but still get condemned for it”.
3. Name: Anderson / Previous Club: FC Porto / Transfer Fee: £20 million (£28 million due to add-ons)
The Brazilian international played a big part in United’s treble winning season of 2007-08, during his first season at the club. He also won the Golden Boy Award, for being the most impressive player who was under the age of 21, within the top tier of European countries. When looking back at the list of winners, Anderson would be considered as the player who didn’t fulfil his potential, along with fellow country-man Alexandre Pato.
Injuries and what seemed to be a lack of body conditioning held him back from progressing. With the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, he fell out of favour under David Moyes, as only played 8 times before being loaned out to Fiorentina. The following season, he only played 2 games under Louis Van Gaal and ended his spell at United when he signed for Internacional on a free transfer during the January Transfer window. His goal scoring record at United was disappointing as he only came up with 9 from 181 games for United.
Anderson’s market value (according to transfermarkt) has dropped from £27 million (when he arrived at United) to £3 million within 8 years. And according to Sir Alex’s brother Martin, who was sent to Portugal to scout Anderson, he was meant to be “better than Rooney”.
2. Name: Massimo Taibi / Previous Club: Venezia / Transfer Fee: £4.5 million
Massimo Taibi only played 4 games for United, with his final game being the 5-0 mauling at the hands of Chelsea. United fans will always remember the Italian for his mistake against Southampton, as he let Matt Le Tissier’s tame shot go through his legs and into the net, which gave him the nickname of “The Blind Venetian”. Taibi played for 11 clubs in his career, 10 of them being Italian. His last club was Ascoli, as he retired in 2009 at the age of 39.
1. Name: Bebe /Previous Club: Vitória de Guimarães / Transfer Fee: £7 million
According to Ferguson, he was advised by then assistant-manager Carlos Quieroz to purchase Bebe, despite never watching him play in person. He had only played in Portugal’s second division prior making the move to Old Trafford. Over the course of four years at United, he only played in 7 games, but spent most of his time out on loan. He was sold to Benfica for £2million in 2014 but hasn’t found any more first team action at the Portuguese club than he would have at United. During the January transfer window, he was sent on loan to La Liga side Cordoba, with their season ending in relegation.
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