Manchester United invite 227 of their former players back to the club

Manchester United are inviting 227 of their former players back to the club in a new initiative.

227 former players who have left Old Trafford over the past 11 years have returned to the club in a pioneering new scheme.

Man United's alumni programme allows academy graduates back into the fold to help some of them navigate the disappointment of not making the grade at the club.

The campaign will launch early next year and is designed to improve the support available to academy graduates who have left Man United.

Old Trafford officials have spent the past 18 months developing the programme which will give formal access to support, help and advice.

Academy director Nick Cox has fine-tuned a strategy to ensure the project meets the needs and demands of those academy graduates.

Cox told The Telegraph: "We see it as our duty to care and support the boys long after they have left us. They make a big commitment as young players to be part of our programme. We think that commitment deserves an ongoing commitment from us.

"We are constantly refining what we do, why we do it and if we could do it better. We felt there was a need to formalise some of that aftercare and support.

"The risk of an informal approach is that you end up connecting with young boys who you know, are prominent in your minds and are desperate to come back. But you might miss a young person who really needs your support.

"If we can let the network interact with itself, there is an enormous amount of support that can be generated across that cohort. Our programme has to be somewhere that is vibrant, creative, experimental."

Man United are set to hold four events a year and hope by creating this programme that former academy graduates can engage with each other and improve the quality of 'aftercare' provision.