Anderson to Internacional: Latest Transfer Details, Comments and Reaction

Anderson's Manchester United career is finally, finally over. The one-time FC Porto star, who has cost the Red Devils over £25 million since signing in 2007, has returned home to join Brazilian side Internacional on a free transfer.

The club's official site (h/t FIFA.com) confirmed Anderson signed a four-year deal. That brings to a close the disappointing Premier League stay of one of the biggest flops in United's history.

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Anderson arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation as a dynamic, budding star. He was considered a powerful midfield workhorse, also blessed with the requisite Brazilian flair and eye for goal.

But his career never really took off in Manchester, despite several false dawns. After United beat Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of the 2009 UEFA Champions League final, then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson touted Anderson to replace Paul Scholes, per Sky Sports: "Anderson is going to replace Paul Scholes. He is an outstanding talent. He has fantastic speed and strength and he is only 21."

However, that was quite literally as good as it got for Anderson. Fast-forward to November 2014, and Mail Online writer Joe Bernstein reported how he'd cost United "£5.5 million per goal."

After Anderson's departure, Manchester Evening News writer Stuart Mathieson asked: "Has any player been at the club so long and actually done so little?"

Mathieson referenced the ample haul of winners medals Anderson claimed, but also noted how he made only 128 starts, so was barely a factor in many of those triumphs.

Yet despite things never working out, United offered Anderson best wishes for the future as he returns to Brazil, per the Old Trafford club's official Twitter feed:

He now becomes the second midfielder to leave Old Trafford during the winter transfer window. Darren Fletcher completed a free transfer to West Bromwich Albion on deadline day, per BBC Sport.

Current manager Louis van Gaal is clearly determined to remove many of the fringe players who cluttered up the squad during the final years of Ferguson's reign.

The only real surprise about Anderson's United career is that it's taken this long to bring it to an end.