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#3 Patrice Evra (AS Monaco to Manchester United for £7.2m in 2006)
Another shrewd piece of business by Sir Alex Ferguson. Just a few days after Manchester United unearthed a gem in Nemanja Vidic, they roped in a young Patrice Evra who had impressed at Monaco.
Signed for a fee of £7.2 million, the Frenchman was expected to prove himself as a worthy successor to an injury-stricken Gabriel Heinze. It didn't take much time for Evra to make the left-back role his own, establishing himself as a crucial part of a sturdy United defense alongside Neville, Vidic and Ferdinand.
As the old guard said goodbye throughout the years, Evra became a United captain and led the team by example. Despite having a comparatively short stature, Evra became one of the best left-backs in the game during his time with the Red Devils, thanks to his pace, positioning and aerial ability.
Like Vidic, Evra stayed at Old Trafford for eight years, bagging nine major trophies in the time before being shipped off to Juventus in the summer of 2014. Looking back, snatching Patrice Evra from the jaws of Inter Milan who had nearly signed him in 2006, may be one of the best pieces of transfer business Sir Alex Ferguson ever made.
