Top 5 players who became better after leaving Manchester United

Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and have been for many decades now. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's big 2, can match them in terms of worldwide following, combined with wealth.

Playing for England's most successful club is the pinnacle for most footballers. It's where they usually have the best chance at winning big trophies and accomplishing the most in their careers.

Many players end up finding, then, that life after Old Trafford isn't so sweet; they either drop to lower level clubs in their older age or perform nowhere near as well as they did in Manchester. It's difficult to beat playing for the Red Devils.

The club has also been blessed with one-club men like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, legends who never once thought about playing football for any other teams in the world. There are, however, exceptions and some players do manage to find success after leaving the club.

Some individuals reached their peak after their time in Manchester, going on to do great things elsewhere in Europe; others showed their true capabilities away from the pressure of playing for a club like Manchester United after they surprisingly found little success and silverware with the Red Devils.

With that being said, this slideshow looks at the 5 most notable examples of players who spent time at Manchester United, but ultimately, performed better only after leaving the club:

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#5 Angel Di Maria

Di Maria has been much better at PSG, without having to be the main focal point of the attack

It surprisingly never really worked out for Di Maria at Manchester United. He arrived from Real Madrid and was cited as the player to transform the team after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

By the end of the 2014/2015 season, however, many in the media judged him as the worst signing of the season but this was a harsh appraisal. Di Maria struggled because the team as a whole struggled, and he often found himself in unfamiliar positions and unfamiliar formations at the behest of then manager Louis van Gaal.

He managed only 4 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions, but was unfortunate to play for the club in one of their most disappointing seasons of the 21st century. PSG rescued the Argentine for a large transfer fee and he has shown much better form in France.

Di Maria won the Ligue 1 title in his first season in Paris and scored an excellent 10 league goals. He would also end that season with a new league record, having provided 18 assists for his teammates; this was the Di Maria of old, the Di Maria of Real Madrid.

After the arrival of a certain Neymar to PSG, the winger has found his opportunities in the first team relatively stifled, so far this season, but that hasn't stopped Di Maria contributing 14 goals already - a tremendous return.

His time in England will always be a source of frustration for him, but it's clear to most that Di Maria wasn't given the chance to show his best.

#4 Diego Forlan

Forlan was one of Atletico's many fantastic forwards of this century.

It never really clicked for the Uruguayan legend during his time in Manchester and Forlan, unfortunately, became a bit of a joke figure for Premier League fans. He managed only 17 goals in almost 100 appearances across all competitions, and even went his first whole season without scoring.

While Ruud van Nistelrooy blasted home goals each week, Forlan was left floundering on the substitutes bench. He did leave the club a Premier League and FA Cup winner, but his contribution to both was minimal.

He left for Spanish football in 2004 and his form immediately improved to incredible levels: in his first campaign at Villarreal, Forlan ended up securing the coveted Pichichi Trophy as La Liga's top marksman with 25 goals in 38 games.

Two more solid seasons filled with goals followed before Forlan moved up to Atletico Madrid where he only continued showing his talents. Another Pichichi Trophy was claimed by him in 2008/2009 after he managed 32 goals in just 33 league appearances, and in the following season, he was instrumental in Atletico winning the UEFA Europa League title.

He also excelled in captaining his home country to a surprising 2010 World Cup semi-final place and the player became admired by many for his creative ability and devastating finishing.

Forlan has been travelling around world football this decade, including a brief spell in the ISL with Mumbai City, but his time in Spain proved that Manchester United didn't get to see the best of him. In hindsight, he just didn't get into his rhythm in the Premier League.

#3 Carlos Tevez

Tevez has scored goals in every league he's played in

Everyone knows the story of Carlos Tevez leaving Manchester United by now: signing for a British transfer record after complex negotiations, Tevez literally became the poster boy for the new challenge across the city - from Manchester City, as the club sought dominance over the Premier League.

Tevez had been an important part of Manchester United's attack for the 2 seasons before that, especially in the 2007/2008 campaign. He formed a lethal partnership with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo that led the team to a Premier League and UEFA Champions League double.

It was the Argentine's intense running and immense effort that gave Ronaldo and Rooney the freedom to ship in the goals.

Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't have wanted to lose a player of his talent and Tevez did go on to help transform his new club. Playing as the main striker, he relished the opportunity and ended his time at Manchester City with 73 goals in 148 appearances across all competitions.

Although he didn't play as much due to personal circumstances, Tevez still contributed 4 goals towards Manchester City's famous 2012 league title triumph. Like Patrice Evra, the striker joined Juventus and continued his rich scoring form: Tevez scored 19 and 20 goals in his 2 league campaigns respectively in Italy, helping Juventus to the league title in both.

His tenacious work ethic and power bullied Serie A defences and he formed a great front partnership with the tall Alvaro Morata. Having made a lot of money playing in China with Shanghai Shenhua in 2017, Tevez has rejoined his first club Boca Juniors in a move which takes him back to his home country of Argentina.

#2 Gerard Pique

There are few better defenders on their day than Pique at his best

It's tempting to imagine how well off Manchester United would have been had Sir Alex Ferguson gave Gerard Pique more of a chance during his time at the club. The tall Spaniard made only 23 appearances in total but his path to the first team was blocked by the formidable pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

At his tender age, there was little chance of Pique splitting up the two but Manchester United could certainly have done with his talents once those two departed.

Pique, instead, returned at the age of 21 to the team of his youth, Barcelona, and has not looked back since: he has 6 league titles to his name; 5 Copa del Rey titles; He also was a rock in defence, as Barcelona triumphed in the UEFA Champions League in 2009, 2011, and 2015.

The Spaniard has established himself as one of the world's best defenders both at the club and international levels, and has developed into a world-class performer. Similar to when Paul Pogba left the club for Juventus due to consistently getting overlooked by Ferguson, Pique's gain was Manchester United's loss.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo has only started to slow down in form this campaign

The most obvious entry on this list, Ronaldo somehow topped the incredible years he had at Manchester United after his then world-record transfer to Real Madrid. He's since grown into arguably one of the best players of his era, alongside Lionel Messi, and one of the greatest footballers of all time.

He became a legend in Manchester before the move, though, after a difficult start to life in England where his young and slim frame struggled to adapt to brutal Premier League defences.

In the 2006/2007 season, Ronaldo simply exploded, as he had bulked up, he had cut out most of the showboating tricks people were accustomed to seeing from him, and his 17 league goals fired his club to the league title.

Sir Alex Ferguson told him to top his contribution from that campaign and Ronaldo duly scored an amazing 31 league goals the following season. He also scored 8 goals in 11 UEFA Champions League appearances, including 1 in the final against Chelsea, as he was the main reason for Manchester United ending 2008 as double winners.

The winger also won his first Ballon d'Or award in this year, recognition of his world-class status.

There was a lot of pressure on Ronaldo's back when he moved to Madrid, given the astronomical transfer fee, but his contributions to the club will go down in footballing history.

Ronaldo again adapted his game, becoming an all-out goal-scoring machine from the left wing, reducing his focus on dribbling. In La Liga, he has an unbelievable 293 goals in 282 appearances; in the UEFA Champions League, he has 99 goals in 94 appearances.

For 8 long seasons, Ronaldo has been one of football's greatest attackers alongside his rival Messi; to witness their competition has been to witness a classic footballing tale in one of the sport's strongest eras.

Ronaldo was the attacking force that has led Madrid to 3 UEFA Champions League titles, including their iconic 10th triumph, and he's certainly their greatest player ever. To be such a success in perhaps Europe's two best leagues speaks so much of Ronaldo's versatility, adaptability, and immense talent.