Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand criticized the club’s decision of allowing Jonny Evans, Javier Hernandez, Da Silva twin brothers and Danny Welbeck to leave the club during a crucial time period.
Ferdinand specifically highlighted Welbeck, stating that he believes the striker is still “good enough” to play for United at present.
The departures of these five unsung heroes occurred in the aftermath of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement at the end of the 2012/13 season, as the club underwent managerial changes with David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
Hernandez departed on loan to Real Madrid in September 2014, just over a year after Ferguson’s departure. On the same day, Welbeck joined Arsenal, a Premier League rival.
Van Gaal later disclosed that he allowed Welbeck to leave because he believed the striker lacked the qualities required to represent a club of United’s stature.
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Whereas, the Da Silva brothers were sold to Brazilian clubs Rafael at Botafogo and Fabio at Gremio. Talking about their abrupt transfers, Ferdinand believes that these departures drained the “lifeblood” out of the club.
While having a talk with the Vibe with Five podcasts, the English defender said:
“One of the big things they messed up on… they sold the Da Silva twins [Fabio and Rafael], they sold Welbeck, they sold Chicharito, Jonny Evans, all in a short space of time.”
“They were the lifeblood of United, they all came through the system, all United boys, and that was lost as well. That was part of what the club had been built on before, people who would come through the academy were integral to everything United stood for.”
“And they were getting rid of those players willy-nilly, I couldn’t believe the club even allowed it. Yes. Welbeck’s good enough now, Chicharito 100 per cent, Rafa and Fabio Da Silva, what they did at United they could’ve done that for the rest of their careers, 100 per cent.”
Evans, who recently suffered relegation with Leicester City, left United in 2015 to join West Bromwich Albion after making nearly 200 appearances for the club.
Welbeck was sold to Arsenal in 2014 for £16 million after scoring 29 goals in 142 appearances for United.
Meanwhile, Hernandez was initially loaned to Real Madrid before being sold to Bayer Leverkusen and later playing for West Ham and Sevilla before joining LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
The Da Silva brothers, Rafael and Fabio, were also let go, with Rafael joining Lyon and Fabio joining Cardiff City.
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In our opinion, these players would have contributed massively if they were given their opportunities after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The club’s decision to sell these unsung heroes proved costly as the Red Devils went on to have a rather disappointing transfer window for years to come. Ultimately, they were unable to sign players at those respective positions.
