Manchester United have lost some very talented players over recent years, but this trend goes back to Sir Alex Ferguson’s era as well.
Sir Alex Ferguson had one of the best talent IDs in the history of managers, which saw him use undervalued players to win many of the 38 trophies he won at Manchester United.
However, sometimes, the legendary manager got it wrong, which was the case when United decided to let Gerard Piqué leave, only for the Spaniard to become world-class at Barcelona
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Now, John O’Shea has picked out another player that Sir Alex was wrong to let leave.
Jaap Stam holding FA Cup for Manchester United.
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
John O’Shea questions why Sir Alex Ferguson ever sold Jaap Stam
While United got the best from Jaap Stam, his exit from the club came when he still had lots to offer at Old Trafford.
Stam was sold for £16m to Lazio in 2001, and this sale has now been called out by O’Shea, speaking to Stadium Astro.
“Jaap. Jaap Stam”, O’Shea answered when asked who he was, must have been surprised was sold during his time at the club.
“He would have been a key one. Indirectly, it helped and benefited me to get into the first-team squad sooner, but I think the manager felt at that time he’d got so many right, but I’d say Jaap was one, many felt he was still one of the best defenders in Europe.”
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There has been plenty of revisionism over Stam recently. With Nicky Butt suggesting Stam was better than Virgil van Dijk, something many United and neutral fans would agree with.
Jaap Stam should have been at Manchester United longer
Stam was 29 when he left Manchester United, and the performances he put in over in Italy proved that he was still completely capable of being a Premier League star.
Despite only spending three seasons at the club, Stam is remembered as one of United’s best centre-backs ever, which shows that if he were at the club longer, he’d be a guaranteed greatest of all time contender.
Stam’s exit coincided with United’s transition period starting; however, if he had remained, it might have meant Sir Alex didn’t have the few years without a Premier League title in the early 2000s.
The Dutchman is still adored by fans even today, and a player of his quality would be a current world-beater. Matthijs de Ligt idolises Stam, and if he continues to shine, he might one day find himself thought of similarly.