Today, Manchester United is far from the best team in the Premier League, let alone the whole of Europe, but do you remember the times when the Red Devils dominated the game? Yes, I am referring to the Sir Alex Ferguson era, a time which saw Manchester United win multiple trophies, both domestic and European.
One of the more recent triumphs towards the end of Sir Alex’s era was the European double, which they won in the 2007/08 season. While we all know that the legendary manager is no more affiliated with the game, what about the players who were once champions?
Cristiano Ronaldo has obviously had it the best, going on to become one of the world’s best players, but where are players like Nani and Wes Brown? In our latest of the ‘Where are they now series?’, we bring to you where Sir Alex’s double-winning Manchester United squad are.
Edwin van der Sar
The first choice keeper of the team for years, van der Sar retired at Manchester United in 2011. After hanging up his gloves, he took up behind-the-scenes roles and now is the general director at his first senior club – Ajax.
He also came out of retirement in 2016 to play one final game for his youth club (VV Noordwijk), in which he saved a penalty in a 1-1 draw.
Gary Neville
Neville missed most of the season due to injury, but was still part of the squad, and even made a 9-minute cameo appearance in a UEFA Champions League (UCL) game against AS Roma. The former Red Devils captain was a one-club player, and retired in 2011. He went on to become a football pundit and has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports.
Neville also opened a hospitality company with long-term teammate Ryan Giggs, and GG Hospitality now owns quite a few football themed cafes and a hotel named Hotel Football. The Englishman also writes a weekly full-page column for ‘The Sunday Times of Malta’. He even had a short stint as a manager, taking over the role of England’s assistant coach in 2012.
Neville signed on as Valencia’s first team manager in 2015, but failure to perform led to his sacking less than a year later. Further, he, along with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Phil Neville decided to purchase the club Salford FC, and are co-owners of the club which achieved promotion into The Football League in 2015.
Even today, Gary Neville has managed to remain relevant in the football world and intends to grow his company, GG Hospitality.
Patrice Evra
While Patrice Evra has played for several clubs, he will be best remembered for his time at Manchester. Evra was the first choice left back in the season they won the double, and stayed with the team till 2014, when their legacy began to nosedive.
He signed for Juventus in July 2014, and had a successful stint with the club until the beginning of the current season. Less than two weeks ago, he announced that he will be signing for Marseille in Ligue 1. We expect Evra to be with the club until the summer of 2018 when he is expected to retire.
Owen Hargreaves
Hargreaves was one of the men brought into the team for the 2007/08 season, and the Englishman won the double in his first year after signing from Bayern Munich. The Red Devils did not renew his contract in 2011, and Hargreaves was a free agent.
After posting several videos on YouTube addressing his fitness, Hargreaves earned himself a one-year deal with rivals Manchester City, but made only one league appearance for his new club when they went on to win the league.
He was released shortly after the season ended, and was seen training with Queens Park Rangers, but did not sign for the club. Post retirement, Hargreaves became a football pundit, most recently seen covering the Euro 2016 for CNN.
Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand was one of the most consistent defenders in the squad that won the double, and his efforts were visible when the team kept six consecutive clean sheets in the league. Ferdinand scored the last goal of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, after which he stayed at the club for another year.
In 2014, his contract with the Red Devils expired, and he signed with newly promoted side, Queens Park Rangers. In October 2014, Ferdinand confirmed that he would be retiring at the end of the season, and was released by QPR in May of 2015.
The Englishman has also published two autobiographies after winning the double – ‘Rio: My decade as a Red’ and ‘#2sides’.
Wes Brown
Brown’s career after leaving Manchester United was quite average, having signed for Sunderland in July 2011. He stayed with the club for five years, helping them avoid relegation. In 2016, Brown signed a short-term deal with Blackburn Rovers, both as a player and a youth coach.
He holds a UEFA ‘A’ coaching license and is currently the Blackburn Rovers U-23 coach.
Anderson
Anderson signed for the club prior to the double winning season, with the combined transfer fee for him and Nani reportedly being around €30 million. Anderson was an integral part of Sir Alex’s squad till 2013 but fell out of favour under the new manager, David Moyes.
He was sent on loan to Fiorentina, where he started just five games in five months. Once his Manchester United contract expired in January 2015, he left the club to sign for Internacional on a four-year deal. He is a regular first-team player there, as of 2017.
Louis Saha
The man that Wayne Rooney claimed was the best player he has ever played with, Louis Saha was set to become a big star at United. Sadly, his career was plagued with injuries, and the double winning season was his last at the club.
He signed for Everton in the summer of 2008, and was with the club for four years before moving to Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer in the January of 2012. He was released at the end of the season, though, and signed for Sunderland in August.
He made 14 appearances for Sunderland, failing to find the back of the net even once. His contract was terminated in January of 2013. Saha then had a short stint with Lazio, before announcing his retirement in August 2013 via his official Twitter account.
Ryan Giggs
With captain Gary Neville injured, Giggs wore the armband for most of Manchester United’s double winning campaign. He was one of the first names on the team sheet for years to come, and retired at the club in 2014, following which he was appointed as assistant manager under Louis van Gaal.
Previously, he had even served as interim manager following David Moyes’ sacking. Giggs left the role of assistant manager following Jose Mourinho’s appointment, but continues to be affiliated with the club. Along with Gary Neville, he has formed a hospitality company dedicated to opening football-themed hotels and cafés. The Welshman is also the co-owner of Salford City FC, a non-league club.
Ben Foster
Foster struggled to break into the first team at Manchester United, being the third choice goalkeeper behind Edwin van der Sar and Thomas Kuszczak. He played only one game in the 2007/08 season, when van der Sar was injured and Kuszczak suspended.
While he was impressive in that game, he did not make any other appearance for the Red Devils, and signed for Birmingham City. He was the first choice in goal for Birmingham but was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion when Birmingham were relegated and he made the move permanent in 2012, becoming an indispensable player at West Brom, where he still plays today.
Park Ji-Sung
One of the most decorated Asian footballers of all time, Park stayed with Manchester United until 2012, after which he signed for Queens Park Rangers, citing lack of first team football as the reason for the move.
His first season at QPR was largely unsuccessful, though, and the team were relegated into the second division of English football. Park was then sent on loan to PSV Eindhoven where he retired in 2014. He recently attended De Montfort University in the hopes of coaching a K-League team.
Nemanja Vidic
Vidic signed for Manchester United in 2006, following a good showing in the World Cup Qualifiers. He soon became an important member of the squad, and many fans believed that he, along with Rio Ferdinand, was the reason for United’s defensive solidarity during the Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) era.
Vidic chose to leave the club once SAF retired, and he joined Internazionale (Inter Milan) on a free transfer in July 2014. He spent most of the 2015/16 season on the bench since new manager Roberto Mancini preferred to start younger defenders. In 2016, Vidic terminated his contract with the Milan-based side, announcing his retirement from the game shortly after.
Today, he has disappeared from the footballing world and is leading a quiet life with wife Ana Ivanovic and his three sons.
Michael Carrick
One of only two players from the double winning squad to still be playing at Old Trafford, Carrick is a regular under manager Jose Mourinho. He still appears in the Red Devils’ cup games, but there has been speculation of him leaving the club.
Aged 35, retirement can’t be too far for Carrick either. He has also been available for selection by the England national team, although his last game was a friendly against Italy in early 2015.
Nani
Nani was one of the new signings in Manchester United’s double-winning squad, signing from Sporting CP along with Anderson. Nani had a successful start to his career in England, becoming a household name and an integral part of United’s attack, following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid.
The Portuguese’s form began to dip in the 2013-14 season, and he spent most of his time sidelined due to injuries. In August of 2014, Nani was loaned back to Sporting, where he had a dismal return. A year later, Manchester United sold him to Turkish club Fenerbaçhe along with former teammate Robin van Persie.
Nani played at Fenerbaçhe for a year, before being sold to Spanish club Valencia in July 2016, where he still plays on the right wing.
Paul Scholes
Arguably the best English midfielder of all time, Scholes was a one-club man, playing for the Red Devils between 1991 and 2013. Scholes initially announced his retirement at the end of the 2010-11 season, joining the Manchester United coaching staff.
Less than six months later, the midfielder came out of retirement due to United’s injury crisis and re-signed a contract keeping him at the club until May 2013. Scholes announced his second retirement on the 11th of May. Post-retirement, the Englishman signed a 4-year deal with BT Sport as a football pundit.
He also had a short stint working behind the scenes for Manchester United, helping out interim manager and friend Ryan Giggs. He is also a co-owner of Salford FC, along with his former teammates and Singapore-based billionaire, Peter Lim.
Gerard Pique
Pique was a part of the Manchester United defence between 2004 and 2008, although he played very few games in that period. At the end of the double winning season, Pique signed for his boyhood club, FC Barcelona, and is an integral part of the Spanish giants’ squad.
He has expressed his will to remain with FC Barcelona even after his retirement (which may be a long way down the line). Off the pitch, the Spaniard is married to Colombian singer Shakira, and they have two children.
Dong Fangzhuo
Fangzhuo was a Chinese national who made only one appearance for the Red Devils in the double-winning season, after which he left for Dalian Shide, the top club in the Chinese Super League at that time. Failure to perform saw him return to Europe, with multiple short stints at clubs like Legia Warsaw and Portimonense.
Fangzhuo has not yet officially announced his retirement, but is a free agent now.
John O’Shea
O’Shea was an important utility player for the Red Devils in the 2007/08 season, coming off the bench to play in virtually every position. Predominantly a full-back, O’Shea played at Manchester United till 2011, when he signed a deal with Sunderland, where he still plays.
Jonny Evans
Having played only three games for the Red Devils, Evans struggled to break into the first team till late 2011, and was loaned out to Sunderland for multiple seasons. He signed for West Bromwich Albion in 2015, and has been at the club ever since.
Darren Fletcher
Fletcher was used primarily as a substitute in the 2007/08 season, coming off the bench 11 times in the league. His career at Manchester was plagued with injuries and health related issues, with him playing only 10 games in his last three years at the club.
In January 2015, when his contract expired, Fletcher signed with West Bromwich Albion, taking over the captain’s role in his first game. He still plays at West Brom and along with teammate Jonny Evans, has brought the team into the top half of the table.
Mikael Silvestre
Silvestre missed most of the double winning season due to a knee ligament injury, being sidelined for over six months. He moved to Arsenal at the end of the season, and was the first choice left back at the London-based club.
In 2010, he was released by Arsenal and moved to Werder Bremen on a free transfer. Two years later, he left Bremen and began training with his former club, Manchester United. Silvestre eventually moved to the MLS where he tried out for Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers.
He joined the latter on a two-year deal, but an ACL tear left him out for most of the season. After his contract expired in 2014, the Frenchman joined ISL team Chennaiyin FC, where he played 14 games before eventually retiring. Post-retirement, he took up the director of football role at Rennes, leaving on mutual terms in late 2016.
Tomasz Kuszczak
Kuszczak was the backup keeper in the squad, behind Edwin van der Sar. Kuszczak had a fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012, with Sir Alex not allowing the keeper to go out on loan to Leeds United. In February that year, Kuszczak joined Watford on an emergency loan, with the hope of first team football.
On 1st June, United confirmed his release. Kuszczak signed for promotion contenders Brighton and Hove Albion, becoming one of their star players. He was released two years later when the club failed to achieve promotion. After a 2-year run with Wolverhampton, Kuszczak signed for his current club – Birmingham City – and is hopeful for a return to the top-tier this season.
Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez signed for Manchester United before the 2007/08 season, following a transfer controversy. It is still unclear whether he signed on a two-year loan or a free transfer, but Sir Alex had announced that the deal was made permanent in mid-November.
Less than two seasons later, Tevez left Manchester United, claiming that he was not offered a long-term deal. He signed with rivals Manchester City on a 5-year deal. After a fallout with the club’s manager and owner, Tevez was fined heavily and sidelined for months as he had refused to come on as a substitute in the second half when manager Roberto Mancini asked him to.
While he did spend a lot of time away from the first team, he managed to fight his way back, and played with the squad till 2014, when he left for Juventus. After a successful run at the Italian club, Tevez signed for his home club Boca Juniors, where he expressed his desire to retire.
Little over a month ago, though, the striker left Boca Juniors for China-based Shanghai Shenhua, where he reportedly will earn 41 million USD a year.
Wayne Rooney
Arguably the second most famous name on this list, Rooney is one of only two men to have stayed at the club since the season they won the double. Quite recently, he scored his landmark 250th goal for the Red Devils, breaking the all-time record previously held by Bobby Charlton.
Despite speculation regarding his future at the club, Rooney remains keen to stay at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Finally, the player who had it the best among all the men that won the double with Manchester United, Ronaldo left the club in 2008/09 and signed for Spanish giants Real Madrid. He has won many trophies since leaving Old Trafford including the Champions League as well as individual accolades such as the Ballon d’Or. He even captained Portugal to the UEFA Euro crown in 2016.
While Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs and Neville had it the best, there were players like Louis Saha and Anderson, who disappeared into obscurity not long after winning the double.
Note: We’ve only discussed players who made at least one League or UCL appearance for the Red Devils in their double winning campaign. The squad also consisted of players like Tom Heaton and Ryan Shawcross, who were either sitting in the reserves or were out on loan.
