Fergie had grand plans for United before he retired
UNITED may have had a frontline of Cristiano Ronaldo, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski had Sir Alex Ferguson not retired in 2013.
The Scot only told a handful of people of his plans to hang up his hairdryer as United closed in on a record 20th league title, and he had already been planning ahead for next season.
Ferguson had held meetings about the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and had even been talking about prospective targets at scouting meetings with his coaching staff.
Rene Meulensteen, who worked as a first-team coach under Ferguson, told M.E.N. Sport earlier this week United were looking at Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Marcos Reus at the time.
And, piecing together observations from other figures of that time, Ferguson was not intending to stop there.
Patrice Evra, for example, previously revealed Ferguson was convinced Ronaldo was returning to the club before the 71-year-old stepped aside.
“He even told me ‘99 per cent, Cristiano Ronaldo will come’. I was like, ‘Wow, we are ready to bounce back and to even win the Champions League again,’” he told the Sunday Times in 2015.
Up front, Ferguson did not have to look too far.
Having already scouted Hummels, Gundogan and Reus, who all played for Borussia Dortmund at the time, he also went to watch their teammate, Robert Lewandowski.
“One year earlier I also spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson and that was definitely a great feeling,” the Pole revealed in 2013.
That would leave a team looking something like this: De Gea, Rafael, Vidic, Hummels, Evra, Carrick, Gundogan, Ronaldo, van Persie, Reus, Lewandowski.
Of course, after Ferguson stepped down, along with executive vicechairman David Gill, United had a disastrous first transfer window under the stewardship of respective successors David Moyes and Ed Woodward.
Botched moves for Cesc Fabregas, Gareth Bale, Thiago Alcantara, Toni Kroos and Ronaldo set the tone for a summer where Marouane Fellaini was United’s only notable addition.
And that was on deadline day. What if, eh?