The UEFA Conference League final between Chelsea and Real Betis offers both clubs the opportunity to have a successful domestic season (both already won European qualifiers). However, the occasion also offers two sub-pictures of Manchester United loanees designed to be the latest Old Trafford "rejection" to enjoy success after leaving the fallen Giants.
Jadon Sancho, who helped Borussia Dortmund get a Champions League final last season while helping Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last season, spent a deal with Chelsea that could see the former England winger transfer £25m permanently to Stamford Bridge this summer. Brazil International Antony has become a fan favorite of Betis and amulet for Manuel Pellegrini's team, having scored nine goals in 25 games and five assists in 25 games since relocating to the Laliga side of January when it locked down six months of loans to January.
Both Sancho or Antony will cancel the league trophy in Wroclaw, Poland, before returning to Manchester United this summer. But they are just the latest in a long list of players who will be on the rise in their careers after leaving Manchester United in recent seasons.
The Scottish midfielder is indeed the one who escaped Manchester United, and the 28-year-old has enjoyed an outstanding season in Italy since completing a £25m transfer last summer. McTominay's 12 goals in 34 league games - including spectacular scissors against Cagliari in Friday's 2-0 title battle - proved crucial to helping Antonio Conte's side stamp championship In three seasons. Oh, and he also won the MVP for his efforts.
It has been six years since Lukaku left Inter Milan for a £70m transfer, but the Belgian striker continues to score goals for all of his subsequent clubs, while he has contributed to the success of the Italian club's title this season in 36 matches. Lukaku lost against United under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the 32-year-old was stepped down despite scoring 42 goals for the club in 96 games, a strike rate put him in the team Ruben Amorim struggled.
The Crystal Palace goalkeeper was the match champion of Oliver Glasner's team in the FA Cup final this season, with the 28-year-old saving Omar Marmoush's penalty in the Hawks' 1-0 victory. Henderson has five loan spells from United, having just 29 senior appearances at the club before leaving the palace in 2023 after United signing André Onana to replace David De Gea.
The Portuguese striker scored 24 goals in 38 matches after returning to the club in 2021-22, but Ronaldo's contract was cancelled in November 2022 after a series of clashes with newly appointed manager Erik Ten Hag.
The 23-year-old broke the game at United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but registered just four goals and four assists in 55 games before moving to Nottingham Forest for a £15million move before being stepped down by Erik Ten Hag in July 2023. This season, Elanga's six goals and 11 assists in the Premier League helped Forest qualify for Europe for the first time since 1995-96.
Erik Ten, who signed for the first time in 2022, suffered damage at Old Trafford before moving the loan to PSV Eindhoven in this winter transfer window. But after moving to PSV in February, the 25-year-old won the Eredivisie title medal by helping Peter Bosz's team win a shocking title in the Dutch league.
Manchester United moved Greenwood to Marseille with a £26.6m transfer after the club decided not to keep the striker. Greenwood was charged with attempted rape, control of behavior and assault. In February 2023, the charges were dropped. The 23-year-old, who had loaned the 2023-24 season at Getafe in Laliga before joining Marseille, was helping him in 34 games of the Champions of topping topping topping this season’s Ligue 1 Scoring Charts 34 seasons.
Mkhitaryan spent 18 months at Manchester United in Jose Mourinho between 2016 and 2018, with the Armenian midfielder having success in the Calabar Cup and Europa League in 2017. Since leaving Old Trafford on Saturday, Saturday, involving an interactive deal.
Italian defender Darmian won three major honors in four seasons at Manchester United from 2015 to 2019 - the FA Cup, the Calabar Cup and the Europa League, before being removed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The 35-year-old has since won two Serie A titles with the International Front and two Italian titles, and he can win the Champions League this weekend with Simone Inzaghi against Paris Saint-Germain.