Where are they now? The 3 players Man Utd sold alongside Wayne Rooney in 2017
Wayne Rooney was sold by Manchester United in the summer of 2017, but what happened to the other three players that the club let go around that time?
There can be little doubt that Rooney ranks alongside some of the greatest players in United’s history, having scored a record 253 goals for the club.
By the time the summer of 2017 had rolled around, Rooney’s role within the squad had diminished and he realised that he was in need of a fresh challenge.
“I came on for one minute in the Europa League final, I was about to come on against Southampton in the League Cup final, and in those moments it was embarrassing,” Rooney told Sky Sports.
“In the Southampton game, Mourinho came to me and said: ‘I want you to lift the trophy.’ I was like: ‘Well, I didn’t even play in the game.’
“He was persistent with it, and I literally lifted it and moved it on. I just knew … What was I doing? I needed to move on and go somewhere else.”
We’ve taken a closer look at the other three players United sold that summer and have checked out where they are these days.
Adnan Januzaj
The hype surrounding Januzaj died down in 2017 and the club decided to cash in for a fee of around £9.8million. Upon joining Real Sociedad, the Belgian winger was handed a new lease of life as he quickly rediscovered his best form.
He then made the move to Sevilla in 2022, although he’s not been as productive since making the switch across Spain.
The winger spent the 2022–23 campaign on loan with Istanbul Basaksehir and upon returning to Sevilla this season, he’s only played 187 minutes of La Liga football.
He’s still under contract at Sevilla until 2026, although given his lack of opportunities, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him leave the club this summer.
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Josh Harrop
Those eagle-eyed United fans will remember Harrop from his debut against Crystal Palace on the final day of the 2016-17 season where he managed to find the back of the net.
Despite being offered a fresh contract by the club, the attacking midfielder decided to forge a career elsewhere and joined Championship outfit Preston North End in the summer of 2017.
The dynamic playmaker showed real signs of promise in his debut campaign, but his second season in the Championship was where things started to go wrong.
He suffered an ACL injury in October 2018 and since that point has been plagued by numerous knocks and setbacks.
His contract at North End was terminated by mutual consent in 2022 and he then struggled to recapture his best form during a short spell with Northampton Town.
After spending around six months as a free agent, he joined League One outfit Cheltenham Town in January and made 13 appearances.
Now out of contract once again, it remains to be seen where Harrop will end up next.
Guillermo Varela
The Uruguayan full-back spent four years on the books at Old Trafford but only made 11 senior appearances during that time.
Sensing his time at the club had come to an end, he re-joined boyhood club Penarol in 2017. He went onto spend two years back in his native country before returning to Europe in 2019.
After enjoying stints with FC Copenhagen and Dynamo Moscow, Varela has since returned to South America and now plays for Brazilian outfit Flamengo.
Playing alongside the likes of David Luiz and Gabriel Barbosa, Varela seems to be enjoying life in Brazil right now.