What happened to the five players on Sir Alex Ferguson's leaked Man Utd transfer list
Sir Alex Ferguson had an incredible level of control at Manchester United but even he couldn't prevent his transfer list from being leaked.
A document from 2004 revealed all about United's plans after goalkeeper Fabian Barthez moved to Marseille in April 2004 and also had names of those who the club were looking to get rid of going into the 2004/05 season.
The entire playing squad was listed in the sheet and broken up via positions, while there was also an entire column labelled 'excess' which include those who were deemed surplus to requirements.
This column in particular featured Nicky Butt and Diego Forlan, who were both circled and ended up leaving the club for pastures new.
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There was also a 'youth potential' section for David Jones, Chris Eagles, Dong Fangzhou and Tom Heaton, who is back under contract at United at the age of 39.
But the real juicy bits were of course related to the five players United chased, made up of four defenders and one attacker.
Here at SPORTbible, we looked back at what happened to the five transfer targets from the leaked list.
Gabriel Heinze
United were clearly on the hunt for a defender and they courted Argentina international Gabriel Heinze, who was at Paris Saint-Germain at the time.
Heinze, who played as a centre back and left back, joined United for a fee of £6.9 million and was part of the side which won the Premier League in the 2006/07 campaign.
When unhappy with his lack of minutes, Heinze pushed for a transfer to Liverpool but Ferguson refused to sell him to their bitter rivals and turned down a bid.
In the end, Heinze signed for Real Madrid and won La Liga in his first season. He later turned out for Marseille, Roma and Newell's Old Boys - who he then went on to manage.
Heinze returned to the Premier League as part of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal coaching staff.
Vincent Kompany
Another top target for United went on to become arguably Manchester City's greatest ever captain. At the time, United liked the look of a young Vincent Kompany, who was progressing well at Anderlecht.
Ferguson actually came to watch Kompany in action in a 3-1 defeat against Celtic, with Kompany well aware that one of the greatest managers in history was scouting him.
"I remember Sir Alex Ferguson was there to watch me," Kompany recalled in a press conference last year.
"If I'd played well, maybe he would've made an offer for me. But I'm glad I ended up at the blue side of Manchester."
Ferguson signed a different player who featured that night, bringing in the later Liam Miller after his performance for Celtic. Kompany made the move to the blue half of Manchester in 2008 for a dirt-cheap £6 million fee.
He went on to win four Premier League titles and cemented himself as City legend, leaving after a domestic treble win and becoming player-manager back at Anderlecht.
After two seasons with Burnley, he took the Bayern Munich job and won the Bundesliga in his first season. Kompany is eyeing up a Champions League triumph but continues to be linked with a return to City as a successor to Pep Guardiola.
Alan Smith
A Leeds United lad through and through, Alan Smith made the controversial switch to Man United in the summer of 2004 after the Whites were relegated. He had gone on record to say he would never play for United but they paid £7 million for his services and he moved to Old Trafford.
Smith was plagued by injuries at United and scored 12 goals in 93 appearances, later playing for Newcastle, Milton Keynes and Notts County.
In 2018, Smith admitted that he still struggles to walk following the free-kick from John Arne Riise which broke his leg.
Philippe Mexes
Philippe Mexes was another one of the options for the centre-back position, having played over 100 times for Auxerre. He did leave that summer but not to United, instead signing for Roma in a transfer which courted controversy.
It was claimed that Auxerre did not agree to the deal and both he and Roma were hit with suspensions as a result. After 267 appearances, the former France international joined AC Milan, where he won the Coppa Italia.
His incredible scissor kick in a friendly against Inter Milan was nominated for the 2015 Puskas Award.
Gerard Pique
The final member of the list and easily the most successful, Gerard Pique signed for United from Barcelona before he signed a professional contract with the Blaugrana.
The defender only played 23 times for United and spent a season loan at Real Zaragoza. He then returned to Barcelona in 2008 and went on to play 616 times, winning a staggering total of 30 trophies.
Pique also won both the World Cup and the Euros in a glittering era for the Spanish national team. After retirement, he set up the popular six-a-side Kings League and his Kosmos Holding sports and media investment group secured big deals in Tennis and the Spanish Super Cup.
Topics: Sir Alex Ferguson, Man Utd
Josh Lawless