Manchester United have granted Darren Fletcher, the longest serving player in the current squad, a free transfer to help him find a team to shift to in this transfer season.
Fletcher was a regular in Louis Van Gaal’s initial team, i.e. the pre-season tour of the US, even considering him for the vice-captain’s position. But soon, after the sudden buying spree, which included players like Daley Blind and Angel di Maria, saw the 30 year old Scot struggle to find a place in the first team sheet in the subsequent matches. Having started in just 4 matches yet this season, he’s now allowed to search for a new club which can guarantee the player a fixed first team spot.
The player, who will be turning 31 this Sunday, started his career as a 11 year old at Manchester United and served the team for almost 20 years from then. He got his breakthrough in 2003 and soon became an intrinsic part of the club as a blooming duo pair of Carrick and Fletcher. More recently, before he made his reappearance on December 15, 2013 under David Moyes, He was diagnosed with a regenerative virus which threatened his life, not just his sporting career. His return to the game shows his commitment and zest towards the game.
He was known more to be of the Garry Neville kind, the one who worked and toiled hard to be where he is right now. He was not liked by the crowd in his initial days, thanks to his comments on Roy Keane, which probably cost the latter’s career. Also, any midfielder of the time was compared to the likes of Bryan Robson and Fletcher was not one of the shiny stars who shone bright right from the start, causing further jeers from the fans.
His role in the team was so important that the UEFA Champions League loss to Barcelona in the finals was reasoned out to not having him in the playing XI. He has played over 342 matches for the club, recently overtaking Billy Meridith. Winning five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, a Champions League and a FIFA Club World Cup with the Reds, it’s as impressive as it gets. Perhaps even more impressive fact is that he was named in the 2009-10 PFA Premier League team of the season whereas bigshots like Lampard and Gerrard couldn’t make it.
The best bet being Sam Allardyce’s West Ham being his future team, other teams following his trail include Valencia, Celtic and West Brom.
