Manchester United's continued struggles have been blamed on two transfers that happened whilst Sir Alex Ferguson was still manager, by Wayne Rooney.
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United have not won the Premier League since Ferguson hung up his chewing gum back in 2013, finishing second in the league twice and neither of them being close to first.
Their struggles have continued again this season, despite signing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo back in the summer.
Those problems were compounded last Friday night, as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Middlesbrough on penalties, ending their best chance of winning silverware for the first time since 2017.
Lots of different things have been blamed for the issues that United continue to have, but Rooney has pinpointed the departures of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, in 2009, as the moment things started going wrong.
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"You could see after 2011; Ronaldo left in 2009, Tevez left and after that you could see it was going to go backwards before it can move forwards," the former United captain told the Mirror
"That’s what I could see and that’s why I was asking the questions. Unfortunately, they probably still haven’t recovered from that to this day.
"That’s what I could see and that’s why I was asking the questions. Unfortunately, they probably still haven’t recovered from that to this day.
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"A massive part of it was Van Persie. I think him coming in gave everyone a lift, coming in at number nine, scoring the goals he scored.
"That was a bit of a masterstroke from the manager, to bring him in and have him hungry because he was a bit older as well. He really carried us that season."
Rooney, who is now doing an impressive job as Derby County manager, in extremely tough circumstances, recently revealed that Fergie once left him 'fuming' over a selection decision.
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Whilst the pair didn't always get on, with the club's all time top goalscorer reportedly twice asking for a move away from the club, it was the Scotsman's decision to leave Rooney on the bench for a Champions League game that particularly annoyed the player.
It was just after his wife had given birth to their first child, Kai, in 2009, and the manager told him to leave hospital in order to prepare for a game, only to find himself on the bench.
Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez
Ryan Sidle