9 Players Who Have Flourished Since Leaving Man Utd

2. Gerard Pique

After starting his youth football at Barcelona, Gerard Pique moved to Manchester United as a trainee aged just 17. He was with United for four years as he began his career but made just 14 first team appearances in all competitions. Ferguson let him move back to Barcelona in 2008 when they met his £5 million buy-out clause. Although this may look like a misplaced decision now, Pique had struggled whilst at United and as a young man there was no telling what way his career would go at that time. Nevertheless, he has since flourished and gone on to win a host of trophies with the Spanish giants. He has made 164 appearances for Barcelona and 61 for his native Spain. Becoming a regular in both starting line-ups he has won numerous trophies, including the World Cup, the Champions League twice, and multiple La Liga titles. He has recently extended his contract at the Catalan club to keep him there until 2019. He is a stalwart of a sometimes shaky defence, providing much needed control as well as that synonymously Spanish drive to push forward.