Man Utd flop once hailed by Ferguson now plying trade in third tier in America

Back in the summer of 2009, Manchester United raked in a cool £80million following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who finally landed his dream move to Real Madrid for what was a then world-record fee.

Naturally, replacing Ronaldo was a practically impossible feat. Nobody was more privy to that than Sir Alex Ferguson, who had almost lost the services of the Portuguese forward 12 months earlier.

Intriguingly, Ronaldo's eventual exit from Old Trafford coincided with the arrival of an exciting, young French winger who, inevitably, drew comparisons with Manchester United's outgoing superstar.

Gabriel Obertan was snapped up for just £3m from Bordeaux by Ferguson, who fended off reported interest from Arsenal and AC Milan. At the time, Obertan's stock was at an all-time high; he had just been named as the most valuable player at the prestigious Toulon international youth tournament after breaking into the Bordeaux first-team at the age of just 17.

"Gabriel is a player we have tracked for a few years now," Ferguson said after signing the winger, then aged 20. "But because of his educational programme our efforts to get him have been delayed. We are delighted to get him now as he is an exciting prospect."

Unfortunately, Obertan's Manchester United bow was delayed even further by an injury which ruled the winger out of the club's pre-season of Asia. And that set the tone of Obertan's first year at the club - and a large portion of his senior career.

He made just 13 senior appearances after working his way back to fitness in the reserve team led by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But Obertan did catch the eye the following summer during the club's pre-season tour of the United States - and he was even lauded by Ferguson after scoring his first goal for the club against Philadelphia Union.

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Ferguson said: "Goals always help players of course, and when they are forwards in particular. There is a goal in Gabby, there is no question of that. The best aspect of his goal was his run, the timing of his run and the timing of the pass and the weight of the pass. It made it a really good goal. He has taken it well."

Unfortunately, Obertan was struck down by injury a week later. And although he fought back to full fitness, the winger struggled to nail down a first-team berth and was offloaded to Newcastle after making just 28 appearances for United.

The opportunity for a "fresh start" at St James' Park was one that Obertan could not resist. He clocked up 25 appearances in his first year on Tyneside but managed just a solitary goal before, again, injury problems struck.

Obertan featured 24 times the following year but he then became a peripheral figure until he was offloaded by the Magpies in the summer of 2016.

Following his Newcastle exit, Obertan struggled to find and permanent home. He had a fleeting spell in Russia with Anzhi Makhachkala, but the wide man was released from his lucrative two-year contract after just six months.

That paved the way for Championship outfit Wigan Athletic to swoop for his services, but Obertan's return to England was also short-lived. The Latics released the former Manchester United starlet after just six months following their relegation to League One.

Obertan enjoyed a brief renaissance at Levski Sofia. He enjoyed one of the most prolific seasons of his career after joining the Bulgarian outfit, netting four goals in 36 appearances and penned a new two-year deal at the end of his maiden campaign.

The 33-year-old was on the move again though just six months later. He linked up with Turkish Super Lig outfit Erzurumspor, where he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. Again though, Obertan was in and out of the team and underwhelmed during his stint in Turkey.

Nowadays, Obertan is plying his trade in the United States. The former France youth star signed on with Charlotte Independence, who operate in the third tier of US football. After bagging five goals and two assists in his first year in North Carolina, Obertan committed his future to the club for the 2022/23 campaign earlier this summer.

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