Premier League

Seven stars who quit Man Utd and thrived including Paul Pogba, Gerard Pique and Memphis Depay

Published

24th December 2021

MANCHESTER UNITED have seen a number of stars come and go down the years and a few who have moved on have proved they should never have been allowed to leave.

Letting players go too soon has cost United dear – both financially and with results on the pitch.

Jonny Evans (left) and Wilfred Zaha have both proven their talent since leaving Manchester United

The Red Devils have not won a trophy in more than four years and in that time some of the stars they let go have enjoyed great success.

From Gerard Pique to Angel Di Maria there is no shortage of talent or medal winners, and United fans have rued the club for letting them go.

We’ve taken a look at SEVEN players who did not have the best of times at Old Trafford but have since gone on to have successful careers.

Memphis Depay

The Dutch forward never got to grips with life in the Premier League and quickly fell out of favour under Louis van Gaal.

Depay ended his two-year stint at Old Trafford by moving to Lyon in 2017, where he scored 76 goals in 178 games to resurrect his career.

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And his good form was recognised by Barcelona who snapped him up on a free transfer last summer.

Memphis Depay resurrected his career at Lyon to earn a move to Barcelona

Paul Pogba

United fans need no reminder of the debacle which saw Pogba leave the club for nothing before returning for a then world-record fee of £109million.

The Frenchman had performed brilliantly at Juventus and often wowed fans with his audacious long-range goals and passing ability.

Pogba won Serie A four times and the Coppa Italia twice before returning for a second spell at United, which could be coming to an end once again next summer.

United resigned Paul Pogba after he impressed at Juventus

Gerard Pique

Gerard Pique is another who swapped Manchester for sunny Spain after making just 23 appearances for United.

He has since gone on to have an illustrious career at club and international level, winning the World Cup, European Championship and the Champions League on three occasions.

Pique has become a Barcelona legend after also winning La Liga eight times and last summer even took a massive wage cut to help out the club financially.

Gerard Pique has become a Barcelona legend after a brief spell at United

Angel Di Maria

The Argentine lasted just one season at Old Trafford despite arriving as a marquee signing under van Gaal.

Di Maria impressed at Real Madrid prior to signing but never looked at home in England, although he did offer up one of the all-time great Premier League goals with a spectacular lob at Leicester.

He joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2015 and has gone on to win 17 trophies in France.

Angel Di Maria has enjoyed a lot of success with PSG after failing to settle at Old Trafford

Diego Forlan

Forlan was regarded as a flop under Sir Alex Ferguson. He scored just ten league goals in 63 games and was outshone by another foreign striker during his time in Manchester, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But Forlan later proved why Fergie signed him – he went on to score 128 goals in La Liga between 2004-2011, which included spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.

He won the Europa League in 2010 with the latter and also played an instrumental role in Uruguay reaching a historic semi-final at the 2010 World Cup.

Diego Forlan is another flop who has enjoyed a successful career away from the club

Wilfred Zaha

Zaha is a hero at Crystal Palace and for good reason given he has been a star player in both of his spells with the Eagles.

For some reason his two-year spell in between at United did not work out with the winger playing just twice in the Prem.

He has since scored 58 goals in 267 for Palace in his second spell and attracted transfer interest from Arsenal and Everton.

Since moving back to Crystal Palace Zaha has proved United were perhaps a little too hasty in letting him go

Jonny Evans

Evans came through the academy at United but was also prone to the odd error when he featured early on his career.

It took a move to West Brom for the Northern Ireland international to find his footing but he has now matured into an excellent central defender.

A switch to Leicester followed in 2018 and he has been an important player for the Foxes since, helping Brendan Rodgers’ side win the FA Cup last season.