Red Devils: The Past

Some said that from the moment Wenger took charge of the Gunners, the Premier League had been swept up in a grand wave of Europeanization.

Ferguson was among the earliest to respond to this trend, and he reaped the benefits. The arrival of players such as Stam had played a major role in helping Manchester United win the Champions League in 1999, so at the start of the new century, he spent a fortune to bring Verón over from Lazio.

It was a desperate gamble aimed at revolution.

As one of the world's top midfielders at the time, Verón was renowned for his passing and playmaking ability. He was also the player Ferguson placed his greatest hopes in. Ferguson hoped Verón's arrival could inject more European elements into Manchester United, bringing the runaway horse under control and elevating the team's tactics and technique.

Manchester United had won the treble in 1999, but whether against Juventus or Bayern Munich, Ferguson had clearly seen the obvious gap between Manchester United and Europe's elite clubs. He wanted desperately to make up for it.

When Verón first arrived at Manchester United, he had briefly displayed outstanding ability, but he soon fell into a slump.

He couldn't adapt to Manchester United, and Manchester United couldn't adapt to him either.

On top of that, Manchester United's squad at the time had been built around the Class of '92. They were naturally hostile and resistant toward the expensive superstar Verón, who had parachuted in from outside. He was bound to take a slice of the old guard's pie.

Although Ferguson had always protected Verón, in the end, he still had no choice but to give up on him.

At that time, Arsenal, relying on their French contingent and European elements, were unstoppable in the Premier League and