5 Players Who Benefitted From LEAVING Manchester United in the Last Decade

Over the last ten years, Manchester United have had a largely dismal time in the transfer market. They have signed plenty of flops in the previous decade – while letting top talents inexplicably leave the club at the same time.

Today, we’ll look at five players who were better off for leaving the Red Devils – including former PSG, Newcastle United and Real Madrid stars. Can you guess who they are?

Scott McTominay

Scott McTominay was largely played outside of his natural role during his time at United. While he functions best as a number ten, United’s coaching staff seemed hellbent on forcing him to play as a holding midfielder or as a box-to-box player.

Neither suited him very well – now that he is being given the freedom to play according to his talents at Napoli, he is showing everyone what he can do. Last season, he helped the Neapolitans to the Serie A title, scoring 12 Serie A goals and notching up six assists.

Frustratingly, the signs were always there. McTominay often played excellently for Scotland as an attacking midfielder, but he was seldom given the chance to do so for United.

Anthony Elanga

Anthony Elanga’s departure from United in 2023 came as a bit of shock at the time – he was sold to Nottingham Forest for a meagre fee of £15 million.

While United arguably have superior attacking talents in their ranks now, it still defies logic – why let such a promising, young talent go for such a small fee in the current market?

This question is especially pertinent now. Elanga impressed audiences at Forest, quickly becoming a key player at the City Ground – they eventually sold him to Newcastle United this summer for a £40 million profit.

Dean Henderson

United fans must have been kicking themselves last season when they saw Dean Henderson win the FA Cup with Crystal Palace – especially given the Red Devils’ goalkeeper plight at that moment in time.

Andre Onana was an unmitigated flop at Old Trafford and Altay Bayindir’s arrival did little to soften the blow. Henderson was a far superior operator than both players last season, as Palace finished 11 points above United in the Premier League table.

He left United in 2023, after making just 13 Premier League appearances for the club. His time at the club was largely characterised by loan moves to teams such as Shrewsbury Town, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.

Ander Herrera

Ander Herrera may seem like an odd pick on the surface, as he enjoyed a fairly fruitful five years at United. However, he would enjoy an even more successful period after he left the club to join PSG.

At United, Herrera won the Europa League and the League Cup – but at PSG, he won two Ligue 1 titles, two French Cups and the French League Cup. Additionally, he also won the Copa del Rey with Athletic Bilbao in 2024.

Some may say that Herrera’s best years were enjoyed at United. In terms of his performances on the pitch, this may be true, but he won far more at PSG.

Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria’s career has been truly magical. One of the greatest wingers of all time, the Argentine won pretty much everything worth winning. There is only one black mark on his illustrious career – his subpar spell with United.

Di Maria’s trophy cabinet was already a mile long before he went to United – but it only grew even larger after he left the club.

He won four Ligue 1 titles, five French Cups and the World Cup with Argentina following his transfer away from Old Trafford. It wasn’t all the Red Devils’ fault that his transfer didn’t work out – Di Maria struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League, but it cannot be denied that he benefitted greatly from leaving United.