It's never easy to leave one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Yet Jesse Lingard faces that prospect this summer. The 29-year-old's Manchester United contract will expire in June, ending a turbulent final two years at the club. Lingard has made just two Premier League starts for United since the beginning of last season.
The England international's fall from grace is staggering when you consider the impact he had at West Ham last term during a loan spell, scoring nine goals in 16 Premier League games. That should've been the catalyst for him to kick on, yet it wasn't meant to be.
Lingard didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to Old Trafford faithful, as interim boss Ralf Rangnick left him on the bench for United's final home game of the season against Brentford earlier this month - despite the team establishing a commanding 3-0 lead in the 72nd minute. No room for sentiment in Rangnick's team!
"20 years of blood sweat and tears, four domestic trophies, three cup final goals, not even a farewell," raged Lingard's brother Louie in a private Instagram post. "No wonder it's [Europa] Conference League next year... well done bro, your family are proud."
Lingard's United exit is unlikely to become any sweeter during the coming days, yet he's not the first player to endure an ugly departure at Old Trafford. Here, Mirror Football remembers seven players that left United in awkward circumstances.
Roy Keane
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Is there a better place to start? Keane was idolised at United, leading them to 17 trophies during an 12-and-a-half-year spell. Yet Sir Alex Ferguson's inspirational captain was chucked out in November 2005 following a television interview that wasn't broadcasted.
Keane was alleged to have criticised the performances of several first-team players in an explosive interview with MUTV, the club's in-house television channel. Ferguson was not wiling to accept Keane's outburst and he was shown the door.
"You don’t criticise any Manchester United player outside the doors," said the legendary United boss in 2005. "I have never done and I won’t. I am unremitting in that respect. Totally unequivocal. My stance is there and it doesn’t change."
Angel Di Maria
Di Maria's United exit wasn't that ugly, to be fair. The Argentine's decision to join Paris Saint-Germain after a year at Old Trafford suited all parties, as he scored just four goals in all competitions during his one and only season for the Red Devils.
What annoyed supporters was his criticism of the glorious Manchester rain. "I'm getting on very well," admitted Di Maria in February 2015. "The weather is the only thing... it doesn't help a lot." What do you mean, Angel? It's always lovely up north!
Joking aside, Di Maria has since admitted he never wanted to leave Real Madrid for United and that his Manchester home was burgled. He also didn't have the best relationship with manager Louis van Gaal and found struggled to adapt to life in England.
"Life in England was a bit difficult," Di Maria told Le Parisien in 2016. "It is not easy for a South American. Some people get on fine, and for others it is harder to adapt. My family wasn’t happy. My daughter was suffering. So it was important to leave."
Carlos Tevez
Ahh, this still makes me chuckle. After Tevez left United for local rivals Manchester City in the summer of 2009, the Argentine's new club printed a huge billboard in the city centre that read: "Welcome to Manchester".
Let's not forget, Tevez had already won six trophies in Manchester by this point - including two Premier League titles - and had scored a vital goal in the city to keep West Ham in the Premier League. Yet he still needs a welcome sign. The audacity!
City manager Mark Hughes tried to de-escalate the drama. "It's a bit of fun between the fans," he said. "It is in a similar vein as the banner at Old Trafford which counts the time span since City's last trophy win. We're glad it's got so many people talking."
Yet Ferguson was having none of it. He told reporters: "It's City isn't it? They are a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Man Utd; they can't get away from it... they think taking Carlos Tevez away from Man Utd is a triumph? It is poor stuff."
Tevez went on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield during his turbulent four-year spell at the Etihad. Yet during the same period, United won another six trophies - including two Premier League titles. Seems like Fergie had the last laugh.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Van Nistelrooy scored 24 goals in his final season at United, yet that still wan't enough for him to avoid the chop in the summer of 2006. His sale to Real Madrid came after a public falling out with Ferguson over him being dropped for the League Cup final.
The two would eventually end their rift in January 2011 after Van Nistelrooy apologised. "Two or three times every year I would think to myself what a shame it was that it had ended like it did with Ferguson," said the striker. "I wanted to do something about it."
Ferguson was happy to accept Van Nistelrooy's apology, yet the saga left United fans thinking what if. The Dutchman had scored 150 goals in 219 games for United. In comparison, Mohamed Salah has 155 goals in 249 games for Liverpool. Can you imagine the Reds flogging Salah over an argument? Fergie wasn't afraid to show anyone the door.
Jaap Stam
Which brings me on to Jaap Stam. Ferguson sold the defender in September 2001 following the publication of his autobiography, which contained stories about United. It was a surprising decision, as Stam was regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Europe.
Ferguson later admitted his regret at selling Stam due to United winning just one of the next five Premier League titles. "Obviously Jaap Stam was always a disappointment to me," admitted Ferguson on retiring in 2013. "I made a bad decision there."
The transfer didn't work out for Stam, either, as he failed to win another league title at Lazio, AC Milan and Ajax. He was part of the Milan side that famously collapsed against Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2005, just to add insult to injury.
Alexis Sanchez
The only good thing about Sanchez's time at Old Trafford was his fantastic skills on the piano during his unveiling. I'll be devastated if anyone tells me he's not really playing it!
The Chilean left rivals Arsenal for United in January 2018 but managed to score just five goals in 45 games before leaving for Inter Milan. His eye-watering salary - worth as much as £500,000-a-week depending on bonuses - made his record look even poorer.
Sanchez's time at United was summed up in September 2020, when he claimed he wanted to leave the club after just one training session. "I want to tell you about my period at United, about many things that were said and that made me look bad," he said.
"I got the opportunity to go to United and it seemed tempting to me. It was something nice for me, because, when I was a kid, I liked that club a lot. I ended up signing without much information about what was happening in the move.
"The first days that I was with my colleagues, sometimes there are things that you do not realise until you arrive. The first training I had I realised many things. I came home and I told my representative: 'Can’t the contract be terminated to return to Arsenal?'"
David Beckham
Beckham will always be a legend at Old Trafford for being an integral member of the Class of '92, yet his exit wasn't pretty. In fact, it was bloody after Ferguson allegedly caught the midfielder just above the eye after launching a boot across the dressing room.
The incident happened during an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in February. It's unclear if the manager was aiming for Beckham, who was left needing stitches. Nevertheless, the England captain left Old Trafford the following the summer for Real Madrid.
"I was there in the dressing room that day and, let's put things right, it was not a good shot - because the boot first hit a table and only then it went in Beckham's direction," United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz later recalled in an interview with FourFourTwo.
