10 Players Who Didn't Fulfil Their Potential At Man Utd

6. Federico Macheda

When Kiko Macheda scored THAT GOAL against Aston Villa in the closing weeks of the 2008/09 season, Andy Gray told us that a star was born. He was probably right - stars are born all the time - but he wasn't talking about the 17-year-old Italian was he? He was, and with good reason. Martin Tyler didn't make that sound of uncomfortable orgasmic proportions for nothing (sorry for the visual), because Macheda had quite literally snatched the Premier League title away from Liverpool's grasp. It was his debut - being thrown on in desperation by Ferguson with half an hour to go - and he produced something as special as that. He scored the next week at Sunderland too, but it was a false dawn. Macheda failed to live up to the incredibly high standard he set for himself on April 5th, 2009, and eventually saw his first team chances limited as his progress failed to match the hype. Spells in and out of the side stunted his promise, and he was eventually farmed out on loan to a variety of clubs before being discarded on a free transfer this summer. He now plays at Cardiff City in the Championship.