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Since the beginning of the English Premier League in 1992, Manchester United have been the biggest team in the country by far. 13 league titles, all overseen by the great Sir Alex Ferguson, meant the club overtook Liverpool as England's most successful team, something which the Scottish manager always aimed to accomplish.
Due to their great achievements, Manchester United have been, perhaps only matched by Real Madrid and Barcelona, as the most attractive club for a top player to play his football with.
The list of legends to have graced the Old Trafford pitch is great and lengthy: Cristiano Ronaldo became world-class here before leaving for Real Madrid; David Beckham became a global icon as the greatest free-kick taker in football at the club.
For many, playing for them is the pinnacle of their career. However, not all go on to find success elsewhere, as Ronaldo famously managed to do, and this slideshow looks at 5 Manchester United players who never reached the same level after departing the club, and have struggled in football since leaving them.
#5 Rio Ferdinand
One of England's greatest ever defenders, Ferdinand formed perhaps the greatest centre-back pairings with Nemanja Vidic in Premier League history. They were the rock which Ferguson built his team of the 2000's on and the two were perfectly balanced: Ferdinand was the graceful one who liked to pass the ball out of defence, Vidic was the rugged tackler who struck fear into forwards.
In 12 years at the club, Ferdinand made over 300 league appearances, amassing a considerable trophy cabinet along the way (he claimed an astonishing 6 league winners' medals).
The player was already 36 when he left the club and could have perhaps retired, but Ferdinand stuck around for 1 more season, signing for newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.
His 2014/2015 seasons would prove so terrible that it makes him unfortunately worthy of inclusion on this list. Signed as the experienced head to lead QPR's defence, Ferdinand managed only 11 league appearances and simply looked past it.
He was sluggish, tired and became a weak link anytime he was on the pitch. His new club suffered relegation in their first season back in the Premier League, and Ferdinand was unceremoniously released from his contract.
His sad campaign merely confirmed that he should have retired after his years of success at Manchester United, and that season is the only negative in Ferdinand's distinguished career.
#4 Wes Brown
An unheralded player during his time at the club, Brown nevertheless played for Manchester United over 350 times, a total that has to be commended. He was a quiet presence in defence, but a strong defender; he was akin to an inferior version of Ferdinand. Whenever Ferguson called upon the player, though, he delivered.
Brown featured at centre-back and right-back, and even played in the UEFA Champions League final in 2008, setting up Cristiano Ronaldo's goal. At the age of 32, after many injury-plagued campaigns, Brown was transferred to Sunderland.
In his 5 seasons there, he managed only 76 league appearances, missing the 2012/2013 season completely. John O'Shea also made the same move from Old Trafford the same season but he went on to play over 200 times for Sunderland, a much larger contribution than Brown.
The former England international currently finds himself playing a part in Indian football with Kerala Blasters and must always be left wondering what his career could have amounted to if he had stayed free of injury.
#3 Danny Welbeck
This player might find himself unlucky to be included in this list but Welbeck hasn't fulfilled his potential enough since arriving at Arsenal. He was a popular figure at Old Trafford with the fans, a hard-working yet talented attacker who clearly loved the club, but Louis van Gaal didn't fancy the player and let him leave for their rivals.
The Dutchman cited Welbeck's poor goals record: while he never scored as many goals as Robin van Persie, his game wasn't defined by his goal scoring, and was more about his tireless running and athleticism that were so effective for his teammates.
His old club could certainly have used him during their troubling campaigns under van Gaal and initially Welbeck started well in London, scoring the winning goal in 2015 that knocked out Manchester United from the FA Cup (Arsenal would go on to lift the trophy that year) and completing his first professional hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League group stage against Galatasaray.
It was a promising debut season for the attacker but since then, Welbeck has only scored 14 times in all competitions in the last 3 seasons. He's been incredibly unfortunate with injuries, missing large portions of each year and has struggled to find proper rhythm as a result. To make matters worse, he had to watch as his side lift the FA Cup twice without him.
What's also worrisome for Welbeck is Arsenal's signings during the January transfer window. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived for big money, both have started well for the club, and Welbeck's path to the first team seems more closed than ever.
Arsene Wenger seems to have him as 6th choice for a starting attacking position and with the World Cup getting closer, Welbeck's chances of making the tournament in Russia look slim.
#2 Nemanja Vidic
Ferdinand's fabled central-defensive partner, Vidic was perhaps the Premier League's finest natural defender ever. He was a commanding and terrifying presence at the back, a Serbian nightmare for opposition strikers. He arrived from Russian football for just £7 million, a fee which seems so small considering his eventual contributions to the club.
Vidic soon settled into the first team and would go on to be almost ever-present for 8 seasons. He won 5 league titles and 1 UEFA Champions League title; on a personal note, he was named in the PFA's Premier League team of the year on 4 separate occasions. At his best, he was consistently one of Europe's strongest defenders for almost a decade.
The only reason for his departure from Manchester United was, like Ferdinand, his age. At 32, he moved to Serie A to join Inter Milan. Italian football seemed made for Vidic, despite his growing years, as the league was dominated by defences.
He ended up playing only 1 full season at the San Siro, however, and made some key errors in league matches that cost his side. His contract with Inter was ended by mutual consent in 2016 and almost immediately after, Vidic announced his retirement from football.
After so many tough years battling bruising Premier League strikers, Vidic was too tired to last at such a high level of football and should have retired sooner like his old partner Ferdinand.
#1 Anderson
The infamous Anderson has become something of a comical figure amongst Premier League fans, with the oft-repeated joke that the Brazilian has more league medals than Steven Gerrard, a joke supposed to be a slight against the England legend, but it's forgotten just how talented Anderson was.
A box-to-box midfielder with stunning vision and silky passing, Ferguson had high hopes for the youngster, seen as a potential successor to Paul Scholes, and he did indeed perform well during his first season; he even scored his penalty in the tense shootout between his club and Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final, therefore helping Manchester United to the trophy.
Anderson spent 8 years at Old Trafford but the fact that he only has 105 league appearances to his name speaks volumes.
Simply put, the player never reached anywhere near his full potential. He performed effectively in small doses, coming into the side and looking great but the Brazilian never found the consistency levels needed to thrive on the top level.
He returned to his home country to play for Internacional but after featuring heavily for two seasons, was subsequently loaned out to Coritiba. Notably, Anderson has put on some weight and has often seemed disinterested in football. He's still amazingly only 29, but Anderson's chances to truly prove himself in European football seem long gone.
