5 International Legends Who Never Quite Made It at Manchester United

Bastian Schweinsteiger is leaving Manchester United and heading to Chicago Fire, putting an end to his brief tenure at Old Trafford. The club have confirmed on their website that pending a medical and a visa, the deal is done. 

United have had mixed fortunes when it comes to signing players who have shone for their national teams, particularly late on in their careers. On one hand there is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been a big success, on the other there are players like the following five who did not work out for the club despite being very capable.

For reasons of timing, or injury, or because of what happened after they left, these are players whose careers in totality will be remembered with great fondness by fans of their national sides, but who did little to add to their legacy at United.

And given current events, it makes sense to start with a much-loved German, who never really had the chance to shine...

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Schweinsteiger's time at United is now up.

Schweinsteiger was a perfectly sensible purchase. His status at Bayern Munich had diminished, meaning he would be available for big wages but a small transfer fee. And, at the time, United's manager was a man to whom the German owed a great deal.

After all, it was Louis van Gaal who had transformed "Schweini" from a right-winger with some promise into a dominant central midfielder—who would go on to be a talisman for club and country.

Van Gaal had also been struggling to get his ideas across. Schweinsteiger had extensive experience with the eccentric manager and had been part of the Bayern team that had been one of the Dutchman's great triumphs. With his excellent communication skills, the footballing elder statesman could act as a sort of translator for his sometimes hard-to-follow boss.

And it seemed to be working, at first. He was immediately popular with supporters, partly on reputation, partly because he genuinely seemed thrilled to be at Old Trafford and partly because he did a nice line in acting as a general for a young midfield. There was a lot of really good pointing.

It started to go wrong, though. Van Gaal, infamously, told United's website "until now we have not seen the best Schweinsteiger that I have seen at Bayern Munich," which was an odd statement given there had been several years and a major injury since then. Injury continued to be a problem, and he was in and out of the team.

Once Jose Mourinho arrived, it was all over bar the shouting. Such was the new manager's lack of interest in Schweinsteiger that the only surprise is that it has taken this long for him to be sold.

A Germany national team legend, yes. A United legend? Absolutely not.

Angel Di Maria

Luis Hidalgo/Associated Press

Di Maria on national team duty.

Angel Di Maria's name brings venom to the lips of many United supporters. While there is probably a more nuanced story to be told, the popular sentiment is that, essentially, he never really wanted to be there and was happy to head off to Paris at the soonest available moment.

It should not have been like this, of course. United had been crying out for a fitting match for the No. 8 shirt, and in terms of skill set, Di Maria was every inch the player the Red Devils needed. He was improvisational, creative and blessed with tremendous ability.

But Van Gaal was having none of it. His "my way or the highway" style is surely one of the reasons it did not work out for the Argentinian at Old Trafford.

On the international stage, Di Maria was a key component of the side that won Olympic gold in 2008 and reached the finals of a World Cup and two Copa America tournaments. They have fallen at the final hurdle too often to be considered truly great, but he has certainly had a better time with his national team than he had at United.

Radamel Falcao

The best thing about Radamel Falcao's time at United was the widespread adoption of his joyous chant. Lifted wholesale from Atletico Madrid fans, the cries of "lo lo lo lo looo, Radamel Falcao" could be heard ringing out whenever he played. And, in contrast with Di Maria, it seemed obvious that he was desperate to make it work.

After all, Old Trafford was his biggest stage yet, the first club he had played at that could be described as an historic European superpower. Having been absolutely electric at Atletico, though, the injury he had suffered in Monaco—which caused him to miss the World Cup finals in 2014—meant he arrived at United far from his best self.

After his one season loan, he had another go in the Premier League at Chelsea, but he was equally unsuccessful. Happily for those who wish Falcao well, he is once again thriving in Monaco, having scored 16 goals in 16 starts and six substitute appearances for the Ligue 1 high flyers.

Missing the 2014 World Cup was a huge blow for El Tigre, and given how good Colombia were even without him, who knows what might have been if he had been there and at his best. He is his country's all-time top goalscorer and an icon of Colombian football. Unfortunately, timing means he will mostly be remembered at United for that chant.

Michael Owen

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Michael Owen in England action in 1998.

Like Falcao, Michael Owen did provide the opportunity for a popular chant. For a little while "Owen One, Gerard Nil" was a popular means of taunting Liverpool's Steven Gerrard on the lack of Premier League titles he won during his career.

However, with Gerrard providing a smorgasbord of choices for schadenfreude, and Owen becoming an ambassador for Liverpool after his playing career, that one has dropped out of favour.

This means that Owen's time at United is mostly just remembered for that goal against Manchester City. By the time he arrived at Old Trafford, he had become a perennial benchwarmer as the many injuries he suffered throughout his career caught up with him.

But once upon a time, he was a bona fide international superstar. He shot to prominence during the 1998 World Cup, dancing through Argentina's defence at lightning speed to score for England. He went on to get 40 goals for his national team, including a hat-trick in Germany.

Owen once carried the hopes of a nation. That was never even close to the case at Old Trafford.

Carlos Tevez

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Carlos Tevez's uncompromising style made him popular in Argentina, as it once did at Old Trafford.

Carlos Tevez is unique in this collection, because he played some of his best football for United.

However, his time under Sir Alex Ferguson was short-lived, and his post-United career meant he became widely disliked by the denizens of the Stretford End. He moved to Manchester City and delighted in inflicting suffering on his old club.

Tevez is hugely popular in his home country. Jonathan Wilson, writing for the Guardian in 2014, discussed a trip to a vineyard in Argentina in 2011 and a conversation with the manager there.

"I suggested there was a superabundance of attacking talent, that maybe Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi couldn't usefully play together. 'Then we must drop Messi,' she said.

"She was absolutely serious, and she wasn't alone. I began to put the case for Messi, but she cut me off. 'Maybe technically Messi is better,' she said, 'but Tevez...' She patted her heart. 'Tevez has spirit, and in the biggest games you need spirit'."

Now, playing Tevez over Messi would obviously be a terrible decision, but it just goes to show how beloved Carlitos is in his homeland. A true superstar of the international scene, he could have been the same at United, were it not for circumstance.