9 Man Utd players who instantly regained form after leaving Old Trafford
Manchester United hasn’t been an easy environment for players to thrive in recent years, although plenty of their former stars have shone elsewhere.
Whether it’s because the badge weighs too heavy or the behind-the-scenes environment isn’t up to scratch, there are plenty of reasons why players have struggled to showcase their best form at United.
We’ve taken a closer look at nine players who seemingly instantly regained their form after leaving Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford
Following an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign, Rashford soon became surplus to requirements under Ruben Amorim.
“I would put [goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day,” Amorim infamously said when asked about Rashford in January.
A loan move seemed like the best option in January and since joining Aston Villa, the 27-year-old has quickly rediscovered his mojo.
Rashford has produced four assists in his last six games for Unai Emery’s side – earning himself plenty of plaudits along the way.
Antony
It’s fair to say that the Brazilian winger has been a total flop at Old Trafford.
Signed for around £82million in 2022, Amorim quickly realised that the 25-year-old wasn’t up to the required standard in the Premier League.
However, since joining Real Betis on loan, he’s instantly rediscovered his spark. He’s produced four goal contributions in his first six La Liga matches and is currently producing a goal or assist every 126 minutes.
“Antony is so much better now in Spain. It’s [because of] a lot of factors, but I guarantee you it’s physicality,” Amorim said.
Scott McTominay
McTominay was a steady performer during his spell at Old Trafford, but he’s taken his game to the next level since joining Napoli.
The Scotsman has been one of the top performers in Serie A this season and seems to be thriving under the management of Antonio Conte.
“Scott is a complete player,” is how Conte described him earlier this season.
“He can be a trequartista behind the striker, he can be a mezz’ala in a three-man midfield, play in a two-man midfield or even wide in a 5-4-1 with licence to attack.”
Angel Di Maria
Di Maria showed some flashes of brilliance during his first few months at Old Trafford, but eventually went off the boil and left the club after just one season.
However, despite his underwhelming spell in England, he quickly picked himself back up and became one of PSG’s top performers.
In 295 games for the French giants, Di Maria scored 93 goals and produced 119 assists.
Alexis Sanchez
Sanchez looked like a shadow of his former self during his spell at Old Trafford, but he seemed to rediscover his form shortly after leaving.
He spent the 2o19-20 campaign on loan with Inter and averaged a goal contribution every 99 minutes that season. For context, at United, Sanchez scored or assisted every 198.6 minutes on average.
The move to Inter was made permanent the following summer and the rest is history.
“After the [first] session I got home and I told my family and my agent ‘can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?'” Sanchez told Sky Sports when discussing his time at Old Trafford.
“But I already signed, I was already there. After the first few months I carried on having the same feeling, we weren’t united as a team in that moment.”
Fred
He seems to be enjoying life under Jose Mourinho right now.
READ: Don’t adjust your sets: Mourinho has turned Fred into Kaka & has him scoring hat-tricks
David de Gea
The Spaniard looked finished at the top level towards the end of his tenure at Old Trafford as he became increasingly error-prone in his later years.
However, after taking a full year out, he’s since joined Fiorentina and has looked like a player reborn in 2024-25.
Having kept eight clean sheets and boasting a save percentage of 74.8%, his stats have been superior to Andre Onana’s this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo
CR7 left Old Trafford under a cloud in 2022. He only scored three goals in his last 16 appearances for the club and had been written off by plenty of fans and pundits alike.
Alright, the Saudi Pro League isn’t exactly the pinnacle of sport, but Ronaldo quickly regained his confidence after leaving United.
In 102 appearances for Al-Nassr, the Portuguese forward has scored 91 goals and is rapidly closing in on 1000 career strikes.
Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian forward only scored 12 league goals during his final season at Old Trafford, but quickly rediscovered his goalscoring touch after leaving.
In his first season after leaving United, Lukaku scored 34 goals for Inter and quickly reestablished himself as a top marksman.
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