When you think of some of the great midfield players who have graced the Old Trafford turf in the red of Manchester United, the usual suspects spring to mind.
Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Bryan Robson and Sir Bobby Charlton all jump out immediately. Yet, before his arrival from Lazio in 2001, Juan Sebastian Veron would have been tipped to end his career among the elites.
The scene could not have been better set for Veron when he arrived in the north west. Sir Alex Ferguson had just led United to their third straight Premier League crown and the arrival of the Argentine was justified as a way to boost the club's chances in the Champions League.
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Such was Ferguson's faith in Veron United spent a then-British record £28.1m on the midfielder and handed him a lucrative five-year deal to boot. Ferguson was confident he had found his man to take the team to the next level.
"I think I've always searched for this," Ferguson beamed at Veron's unveiling. "I never thought I'd spend this much money on a footballer. You've seen the escalation and it's unthinkable but it is a matter between clubs nowadays and the players have no say about the values placed on them. I think he's coming into great years of his career and he will peak and we'll get the benefit of that. He is a world class, fantastic footballer with a vision of a game we can use."
Veron's first season in Manchester was a quiet but respectable one. His five goals and six assists in 42 appearances did not pull up any trees but the midfielder was showing his worth in the Champions League. His ability to pick out passes was sensational and his five assists in that year's European competition was impressive - that is not to say that his Premier League performances were weak, though.
Veron scored four goals in his first eight games for United and claimed the Premier League Player of the Month award for September. Speaking on the United We Stand podcast in 2012, Nicky Butt recalled Veron's inspired performance in a 4-1 victory over Everton towards the beginning of the 2001-02 season: "I was suspended and sat in the stands He was unbelievable, so good that I never thought that I’d play for United again."
There was a lot to admire about Veron on the pitch but with a hefty price tag latched onto his name, media criticism soon followed. As the goals dried up journalists began to criticise Veron and question why Ferguson had splashed so much money on the Argentine. By May 2002, the United boss had heard enough.
"On you go. I’m not f****** talking to you," he bellowed at reporters. "He’s a f****** great player. You are f****** idiots."
Veron was named in the Argentina squad for the 2002 World Cup but, following a defeat by England and a draw with Sweden, La Albiceleste exited the tournament at the group phase having entered it as joint-favourites to hoist the trophy.
Expectedly the Argentinian press hounded their national team, particularly Veron, who they claimed did not show the leadership required as stand-in captain against England.
After returning to United, a similar indifferent season to his first in England occurred. Six goals and nine assists in 40 appearances was once again not terrible but it was not becoming of a player who had been brought in for such a big fee.
Criticism continued until eventually, despite his ferocious defence of the midfielder, Ferguson opted to sell, with Chelsea paying £15million to take Veron to Stamford Bridge. His career post-Old Trafford would continue to struggle., though.
Initially sent out on loan to Inter, Chelsea eventually decided to sell Veron to Estudiantes in his home country in 2006. But what puzzles most people is why it never quite worked for the midfielder at United.
Plenty have their theories. After selling Veron, Ferguson said: "Juan Veron was capable of exceptional football and was talented. But, at times, he found the Premiership a bit difficult. He was a European player and that was where we got our best form from him."
In 2020, Gary Neville named Veron in his all-time overseas United XI, explaining: "Juan Sebastian Veron was an amazing player. In my opinion, it didn’t happen for him, because I think we had the best midfield English football has ever produced, and I think will ever produce. Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Becks. I think these four players are the best Manchester United have ever had.
"The midfield four played in what I would call a methodical way. They played a disciplined role, and it was a classic 4-4-2. The way Veron played, coming out of Italy, he moved into different positions and was fluid, trying to get the ball from the left-back. He was almost the first player who broke the code. The code had to break at some point. Veron came in with that interchanging mindset, but into a team that was set into its patterns."
But perhaps the man himself summed up his United career best. Veron told Four Four Two: "He (Ferguson) was so demanding with everybody. If you couldn’t keep up, it was clear you would have to look elsewhere. He was always forthright with me, but he had my back from day one, which was very much appreciated. At some points, I wasn’t able to give him everything he expected from me consistently. He got it in a few matches but not in others, and if you want to be a great player, your game has to be stable. I couldn’t deliver it at Old Trafford."
To label Veron as a flop would be lazy. Perhaps he did not perform to the high standards his transfer fee demanded but he showed glimpses of what Ferguson saw in him at Lazio and perhaps paved the way for the more modern footballer to succeed in England.
As Neville said, he broke the code.
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