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Manchester United have been represented by some of the biggest names in world football for the last decade or so. From the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay, they have all donned the famous red shirt at Old Trafford. Some of them had brilliant careers for Manchester United while others failed to make a mark with the Red Devils.
Few former Manchester United players are now playing at lesser-known clubs
Most of you might know the teams Di Maria and Depay are plying their trade in at the moment. However, there are also some other lesser known former Manchester United players who are still playing, albeit at much smaller clubs.
Here we take a look at five such Manchester United players who are playing at clubs you probably didn't know about:
#5 Rafael - Botafogo
Rafael arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 2008 along with his twin brother Fabio. The Brazilian immediately became a fan favorite at Old Trafford due to his brilliant performances and passion on the field.
Rafael spent seven seasons at Manchester United, making 170 appearances across all competitions and registering five goals and 15 assists. He was mainly deployed as a right-back but also had the ability to slot in at left-back, making him quite valuable to the club under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Rafael won three Premier League titles, three Community Shields, one League Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup at Manchester United.
After seeing limited playing time, Rafael was sold to Lyon by Louis van Gaal in 2015. The full-back spent five years in France before a single season at Istanbul Basaksehir, where he played a part in their Champions League victory over United in November 2020.
Rafael returned to his native country this summer and currently plays for Botafogo in Brazil's Serie B.
#4 Anders Lindegaard - Helsinborg
Anders Lindegaard was considered a potential future No. 1 when he was signed by Manchester United in January 2011. The Red Devils were looking to replace the aging Edwin Van der Sar and Lindegaard was touted as a potential replacement.
But the Danish international managed to make just 19 league appearances during his five seasons at Manchester United, with 10 of them coming in the 2012-13 title-winning campaign. The 37-year-old managed to impress in bits and pieces but never really looked like usurping David De Gea and making the goalkeeper's position his own at Old Trafford.
As such, Lindegaard was sold to West Brom in 2015. After failing to make it at the Hawthorns, Lindegaard had spells at Preston and Burnley before finally joining Swedish second-tier side Helsinborg in 2019.
He has spent the last two years of his career in Sweden and even managed to score a late goal to earn a draw for his side.
#3 Alexander Buttner - RKC Waalwijk
Alex Buttner joined Manchester United from Vitesse Arnhem on a five-year deal in 2012, after a season which saw him being named the Dutch club's player of the year. Buttner was possibly seen by Sir Alex Ferguson as the long-term successor to Patrice Evra.
He made a brilliant debut for the Red Devils, scoring, assisting and winning Man of the Match against Wigan Athletic. He also got on the scoresheet in the famous 5-5 draw against West Brom, which marked Sir Alex's last game in charge for Manchester United.
But Buttner was never able to kick on in the first team under his successor, with David Moyes preferring Evra as his first-choice left-back. The situation only looked worse after Moyes was replaced by Louis van Gaal and as such the defender was sold to Dynamo Moscow in 2014.
Buttner spent two and a half seasons at Dynamo, which included a short loan spell at Anderlecht before returning to Vitesse on a free transfer in January 2017.
Buttner had a brilliant second spell with Vitesse, scoring six goals and providing 16 assists in 94 appearances across two and a half seasons. He also managed to win the Dutch Cup during his time there before joining the New England Revolution in the MLS in 2020.
The 32-year-old is now back in Eredivise after moving to RKC Waalwijk over the summer.
#2 Gabriel Obertan - Charlotte Independence
Signed to replace the departing Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2009, it's fair to say that Gabriel Obertan's career has gone in a completely different direction.
Obertan's impact at Old Trafford was almost negligible as the French winger managed to make just 28 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils.
The former Bordeaux man was subsequently sold to Newcastle United where he managed to spend five seasons before departing in 2016.
Since then Obertan has had spells at Anzhi, Wigan Athletic and Levski Sofia. He also spent two seasons at Turkish side Erzurumspor before leaving the club this summer.
The winger now plies his trade with American side Charlotte Independence, who play in the second-tier USL Championship. Remarkably, Obertan is still only 32.
#1 Zoran Tosic - Tobol Kostanay
Midfielder Zoran Tosic was hyped as the next big thing in world football after he arrived at Manchester United. The Serbian was signed for approximately £6.5 million in January 2009.
Tosic had impressed at Partizan during a two-year spell between 2007 and 2009. His performances for Serbia after making his debut in 2007 also earned him rave reviews.
He was linked to various top clubs across Europe and so it was no surprise that Manchester United snapped him up in 2009.
However, Tosic failed to make any kind of impact at Old Trafford. The 34-year-old managed to make just five senior appearances at Manchester United before departing on loan to FC Koln in January 2010.
He was subsequently sold to CSKA Moscow during that summer, where he had a seven-year stint before returning to Partizan in 2017. He spent almost three seasons at Partizan, which also included a Europa League outing against Manchester United.
Tosic left Belgrade to join Chinese second-tier club Taizhaou Yuanda before moving to Kazakhstan with Tobol Kostanay in April this year.
