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Manchester United are one of the biggest and the most successful clubs in the football world. Their success down the years is credited to the number of legends who have plied their trades for the club.
However, not every player to don a Manchester United shirt has turned out to be a legend. Let's have a look at ten such players who failed to live up to their potential while playing for the Red Devils.
#10 Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay was signed from PSV Eindhoven in 2015 for £25 million after France Football named him the best young player of the year. He had netted 28 times in 40 games for the Dutch outfit.
While the Red Devils looked to revive themselves under Louis Van Gaal post Sir Alex Ferguson era, Depay arrived with a massive load of expectations on his shoulders. Taking the number 7 only increased that pressure, with the fans viewing him as Cristiano Ronaldo's heir apparent.
But, the Dutchman hardly replicated the form he showcased in the Eredivisie, netting only 7 times in 53 games, hardly worthy of being a Cristiano Ronaldo successor, is he?
The Dutchman switched to Lyon as Mourinho took over the reigns at Old Trafford and impressed once again, while United lamented themselves on being unlucky in case of the attacker.
#9 Kleberson
12th August 2003 is remembered as the day when Manchester United signed a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who went on to become one of the greatest no.7's at the Theatre of Dreams. However, on the same day, United also signed Kleberson, only to see him fail at the club over the next two years.
Luis Philip Scolari had branded Kleberson as the driving force behind Brazil's World Cup victory in 2002. Amid interests from Newcastle and Barcelona, Sir Alex snapped him up for a £6.5 million fee as a replacement for the flopped Juan Sebastian Veron.
The Brazilian made only 20 appearances for United from 2003 to 2005 before joining Besiktas, relatively becoming a Mr.nobody in his later years.
#8 Arnie Sidebottom
Not many men can boast of playing two big sports like Football and Cricket like Arnold 'Arnie' Sidebottom. The Englishman joined Manchester United as a rookie before turning professional in 1972.
In a course of three years, Sidebottom made 20 appearances for the club before turning out for Huddersfield Town and Halifax and later switching to cricket.
In 2007, The Times voted him as 5th amongst the 50 worst footballers ever to grace the English First Division.
As a matter of fact, even his cricketing career panned out to be horrible. He made just 1 test appearance for England, scoring 2 runs and taking only 1 wicket in his entire career. Definitely not a born a sportsman, is he?
#7 Eric Djemba-Djemba
Cameroonian international Eric Djemba-Djemba arrived as a relatively unknown footballer from Nantes for a £3.5 million deal in 2003. Little did he know that he would depart the club as one of the worst footballers ever to have turned out for the club.
The Cameroonian was brought in to replace the mighty Roy Keane who was on the decline of his United career. However, he never replicated the kind of form for which Sir Alex signed him, making only 35 appearances for the club in 2 years.
Later, he also became bankrupt and tried to revive his career with St.Mirren with a view of making it to the World Cup squad in 2014. But, he was told that the club won't keep him for another year.
'So bad they named him twice' was a statement that became commonly associated with him as he was shipped off to Aston Villa in 2005.
#6 Michael Clegg
The name Michael Clegg will remain one of the unknown entities in the glorious history of Manchester United. The English defender was a part of United's FA Youth Cup-winning side in 1995, the only glory he would ever achieve at the club.
Michael Clegg spent seven years at Old Trafford from 1995 to 2002, appearing only 9 times as a United player in that span.
After two rather unsuccessful loan spells at Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic, the Englishman left United for Oldham Athletic in 2002. Eventually, he failed to establish himself and retired at the age of 27.
#5 Bebe
Only five weeks after signing for Vitoria de Guimaraes, Manchester United agreed an undisclosed fee for Portuguese footballer Bebe amid reported interest from Real Madrid and Benfica. However, little did they know that the attacker would go down as one of the worst players ever to arrive at Old Trafford.
Bebe's signing came as a surprise after Sir Alex admitted that he had never seen him play, signing him on the recommendation of his former assistant Carlos Queiroz. The Portuguese made only 7 appearances and scored 2 goals for the club from 2010 to 2014, before being loaned out to Besiktas.
As Manchester United realised their horrible mistake, he was sold to Benfica after 3 loan spells.
#4 William Prunier
Frenchman William Prunier was a rather lucky chap, having joined Manchester United on loan from Bordeaux for the season 1995/96. However, his move to the English outfit panned out to be a horrible experience, one that he would like to erase from memory if he was granted the chance to do so.
Prunier made his debut against Queens Park Rangers and was impressive in that game, assisting Andy Cole for a goal and taking a powerful shot that hit the crossbar. However, the first game of the New Year was where it all went wrong for the defender.
With first-choice centre-backs Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and David May all unavailable, Prunier was given a chance against Tottenham Hotspur. United conceded four goals in that game and Prunier was made a scapegoat for the loss. So terrible was the outcome, he has become a mainstay in the lists that describe the club's worst players of all time.
Sir Alex did offer him an extended deal despite the defeat, but Prunier thought it right to call time on his Man United career that barely lasted for a year.
#3 Pat McGibbon
A centre-back by position, Pat McGibbon signed for Manchester United from Portadown for a £100,000 fee in 1992.
Coming from Northern Ireland, the center-back made just one appearance for the Red Devils from 1992 to 1997. He played his only game for the club in a League Cup game against York City in September 1995, being sent off as United suffered a 3-0 defeat.
Knowing that his chances for making the cut into the first team were absolutely meager, the Irishman joined Wigan in 1997 to revive his wrecked career.
#2 Dong Fangzhou
The first Chinese player ever to pull on a Manchester United shirt, Dong Fangzhou's move to Old Trafford was said to have business motives. The signing was an attempt to increase an already vast fan following in the East Asian region. However, the move panned out nothing short of a failure.
Fangzhou signed for United in 2004 from Chinese outfit Dalian Shide but failed to make an appearance for United until 2007, due to the absence of a work permit. After a successful loan spell at Royal Antwerp, Fangzhou made a debut for United in a charity match against European XI in 2007.
What followed was just a single Premier League and Champions League appearance and a couple of cup appearances, before the player and the club agreed on terminating his contract.
#1 Mark Lynch
Manchester-born right-back Mark Lynch was an academy lad who spent his formative years in the famous youth academy of the club. He stayed at United from age 17 to 23, only to see himself wrecking deeper and deeper, never being able to revive his career.
He made only one appearance for the club which came in a UEFA Champions League game against Deportivo La Coruna in the 2002/03 season, scoring an own goal in the fixture.
Failing to break into the first team, he left United to play for Sunderland, Hull City, Yeovil Town, Rotherham United, Stockport County and Altrincham but failed to establish himself as a prolific starter at any of the clubs. He retired in 2012 aged 30.
