Premier League fans won't remember Juan Sebastian Veron as one of the greats, yet few in Italy and South America have ever questioned his brilliance.
The ex-midfielder - who turned 47 on March 9 - enjoyed a glittering playing career, even if his time in England didn't turn out as planned.
Veron won five league titles - including Serie A twice - four Italian Cups, the Copa Libertadores and a plenty of other honours during his playing days.
He was also capped 72 times by Argentina at senior level, appearing in three World Cups and reaching the final of the Copa America in 2007.
Here, Mirror Football takes a look at Veron's footballing odyssey... including his dream of playing for a current Championship side.
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English ambitions
Veron grew up adoring the red-and-white of Estudiantes, one of Argentina's biggest clubs. His dad Juan Ramon Veron and uncle Pedro Verde both played for the Buenos Aires outfit, as well as Argentina - winning seven senior caps between them.
Blessed with talent, Veron was always destined to follow in his relatives' footsteps and represent Estudiantes - but also wanted to play for another red-and-white side.
Verde ended his career at Sheffield United, who were playing in the third tier of English football at the time. Blades manager Harry Haslam had lured Verde to Bramall Lane in 1979, 12 months after signing his compatriot Alejandro Sabella - affectionately known as "Alex" in South Yorkshire due to his magical two-year spell.
Haslam famously tried to sign Diego Maradona before agreeing a deal for Sabella. United's board vetoed the move as the teenager was deemed too expensive. What could've been!
Veron fell in love with the Blades thanks to Verde, although he never donned their red-and-white jersey - instead joining Manchester United for £28.1million in July 2001.
"So there I was hoping to play for Sheffield United and here I am at Manchester United," said Veron on signing for the Red Devils.
Veron went on to spend three years in the Premier League - the final of those at Chelsea - but failed to adapt to the English style of play and was branded a flop by many.
"If there was one thing that played against me, I’d say it was the physical conditioning," Veron told FourFourTwo in February 2021. "I was used to the Italian way, which was key for our game, but in England during that time, the physical conditioning was to play games.
"I wasn’t used to playing without an intense preparation, and it wasn’t ideal for me in the long term.
"As we played more matches, my performance levels dropped. I had so many up and downs: a few really good games, but other poor ones... I know that my time in English football wasn’t the best."
Italian success
Although Veron's time in England was tricky, his career in Italy was a huge triumph.
Future England manager Sven Goran Eriksson signed the midfielder for Sampdoria in the summer of 1996 and, after two convincing seasons and a solid performance at the World Cup in France, he was snapped up by ambitious Parma.
Veron spent just one season at Parma - guiding them to victory in the Italian Cup and UEFA Cup - before following Eriksson to Lazio in the summer of 1999.
"He was the best manager I ever had," said the midfielder when asked about Eriksson. "He gave me the opportunity and supported me through something tough, playing in Italian football at that time... Sven always believed in me."
Veron was even more successful in the capital, winning Serie A, the Italian Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Italian Super Cup. Lazio haven't been crowned champions of Italy since.
After his spell in England came to an end, Veron joined Inter Milan and added another Serie A title, two Italian Cups and the Italian Super Cup to his collection. Few foreigners have enjoyed as much success in Italy as the Argentine.
South American champion
When Veron returned to boyhood club Estudiantes in the summer of 2006, he was in his thirties and his best days seemed over.
Yet it proved to be the start of another glorious chapter in his career. Playing under current Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, Veron helped Estudiantes win the Argentine title in 2006 before repeating the feat four years later under Sabella.
But it was his role in their Libertadores triumph in 2009 that is best remembered. Veron captained Estudiantes to victory against Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro in the two-legged final, securing the club's first Libertadores title since the days of his father and uncle. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, as well as Argentina's and South America's Footballer of the Year.
"We have to raise a monument to all the players," said Sabella after the game. "Veron is the greatest ever Estudiantes player."
Veron continued to represent his boyhood club until 2014. He made a brief comeback in 2017, aged 42, and has since become the club's chairman.
While many English fans will always judge him on his time in the Premier League, there can be no doubting his greatness and remarkable career.
The boy who dreamed of playing for Sheff Utd went on to achieve far greater things - and his fairytale return to Estudiantes is perhaps the greatest of them all.
