Juan Sebastian Veron: Why 'f*cking great' Argentine playmaker flopped at Man Utd

Veron actually looked every inch a £28.1m player during his first few weeks in Manchester. He scored four goals in his first eight Premier League matches, opening his account in style after playing a lovely give-and-go with Roy Keane in a 4-1 drubbing of Everton, before smashing home a superb, first-time volley against Newcastle, producing a low finish in a thrilling 5-3 comeback win over Tottenham, and executing a brilliant long-range free-kick against Bolton Wanderers.

"I was suspended against Everton, he played and I sat there and I thought: 'I'll never play for United again, that's me done, I'll have to get a move.'" Nicky Butt said in an interview with The Times. "Veron was the best player I've ever seen, except [Eric] Cantona. In training he was like something I'd never seen."

Veron was named the Premier League Player of the Month for September, and also impressed in the Champions League as United won three of their opening five fixtures. Veron's standout display came in a 3-0 rout of Olympiacos at Old Trafford as he provided two assists, including a glorious, defence-splitting pass for Ryan Giggs from just past the halfway line.

Former United boss Ron Atkinson had seen enough by that stage to call Veron the second-most skilful player to ever don the red shirt, after George Best. "I'm prepared to say now that, injury permitting, he'll become an all-time great at Old Trafford," Atkinson added to The Guardian. "His vision, range of passing and awareness are phenomenal. Every time I see Veron play, he has me drooling."

With that kind of adulation coming his way, Veron was already being held to ridiculously high standards. Suffice it to say, he couldn't live up to them.

Despite his spectacular goal against Bolton at Old Trafford in late October, United lost that contest 2-1, which marked the beginning of a major Premier League downturn. Ferguson's side only won one of their next six games, suffering back-to-back 3-1 losses away to title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal before going down 3-0 at home to Chelsea.

Veron was hooked before the hour mark against Arsenal after toiling in vain to keep up with the combination play between Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires. He was completely overrun in the Chelsea game, too, and opponents were targeting him as the weak point in the United team.

The tactical structures in place in Italy protected playmakers, but in England, Veron's tendency to give possession away in central areas left United's ageing defence exposed to rapid counter-attacks. His presence created an imbalance, with Veron and Keane both wanting to drop deep to collect the ball from the centre-backs, meaning Paul Scholes was forced into an unnatural second striker or No.10 role.

Ferguson kept switching between a 4-5-1 system to accommodate Veron and the 4-4-2 that had been the bedrock of the team's success in previous years, which prevented United from building any real rhythm. After slumping to a third straight loss at home to West Ham in mid-December, which Veron was rested for, the Red Devils were sat ninth in the table and 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.

There was no lack of character or experience in the dressing room, though. The likes of Keane, Giggs, Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville refused to give up, and with Veron's fellow summer signing, Ruud van Nistelrooy, always ready to gobble up any half-chances, United recovered admirably.

The Red Devils won 13 of their 15 matches after the West Ham defeat, and then beat the Hammers 5-3 at Upton Park to reach the Premier League summit. However, two catastrophic displays against Middlesbrough effectively defined United's campaign.

They lost 2-0 at the Riverside in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and Boro also picked up a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the league on March 23. Veron was directly to blame for Alan Boksic's decisive ninth-minute goal after being robbed of possession by Benito Carbone, and Ferguson took him off early in the second half.

To make matters worse, an Achilles injury flare up then forced Veron onto the sidelines for three matches, including the first leg of United's Champions League quarter-final tie against Deportivo la Coruna. The Red Devils won 2-0 in Spain without the Argentina international, but he returned in time for the return leg. Starting in the absence of the injured Keane and suspended Scholes, Veron produced his finest showing of the entire campaign.

Ferguson's 100th European game at the helm ended in a 3-2 victory, with Veron setting up both of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's goals. His second assist on the night defied belief; after picking the ball up inside the centre-circle, Veron found Solskjaer in the box with an exquisite, outside-of-the-foot pass that most players wouldn't have even tried given the level of difficulty. As was the case with much of Veron's best work, he made it seem effortless.

Unfortunately for him, the result was overshadowed by a serious injury to Beckham. The England captain broke a bone in his foot and all the post-match talk centred around whether he would miss the 2002 World Cup, rather than the technical genius from Veron that had put United into the last four of the Champions League.

Veron failed to replicate that masterclass in the next round against Bayer Leverkusen, as United were dumped out on away goals. This was seen as a major missed opportunity, with Ferguson missing out on a Champions League final in his hometown of Glasgow at Hampden Park, and much of the criticism was aimed at Veron, with one Sunday newspaper report even claiming that two United players angrily confronted the former Lazio man after the second leg.

It was also alleged that Veron returned to Rome five days later to broker a move back to Lazio. "It's absolute nonsense, total lies," Ferguson said, before launching an impassioned, X-rated defence of his record signing when pressed further on Veron's erratic form.

The Scottish boss ordered reporters to leave the press room, saying: "On you go. Out of my sight. I'm not f*cking talking to you any more. Veron's a f*cking great player. Youse all f*cking idiots." It was not unusual for Ferguson to be forthright in front of the media, but this was an unexpectedly vicious outburst.

Clearly, Ferguson was in an especially prickly mood ahead of his side's pivotal meeting with Arsenal. United had to avoid defeat to prevent Arsene Wenger's side from being crowned champions at Old Trafford, and in a final "f*ck you" to his detractors, Ferguson started Veron. He didn't get the last laugh, however, because Veron limped off injured in the 58th minute, moments after Sylvain Wiltord slid the winning goal past Fabian Barthez to clinch the title for the Gunners.

The Red Devils finished third, their worst finish in the Premier League era, and went trophy-less for the first time since 1998-99. Veron later described his debut season as a "catastrophe", and bemoaned the difference in physical preparation between Italian and English football.

"I arrived from a country with intense pre-season training to a country where football matches are the way they train," Veron told FourFourTwo. "After December, I suffered from a lack of a fitness base and I’d pick up injuries."

Despite those struggles, Veron still recorded a respectable 13 goal contributions in 40 appearances, and his class shone through in Europe. United's shaky defence was their biggest issue, with 36-year-old Laurent Blanc a terrible replacement for Jaap Stam, which Ferguson addressed by breaking the club's transfer record again to sign Rio Ferdinand from Leeds.

United and Veron improved significantly in the 2002-03 campaign. Ferdinand made a massive difference, as did new assistant manager Carlos Quieroz, who was a major advocate of the 4-5-1 formation that allowed Veron to act as a quarterback.

The midfield functioned more efficiently and the Red Devils began controlling games again, while Van Nistelrooy's strike rate soared further with the extra support in the final third. Veron was given more responsibility from the off, too, as Keane missed the start of the season while recovering from hip surgery.

Once again, he was especially influential in the Champions League, registering four goals and three assists in the first group phase. After netting a delightful chip in a 4-0 thrashing of Olympiacos, Veron scored another goal-of-the-tournament contender as United beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0, flicking up a Van Nistelrooy pass to knee height before firing a lovely volley low into the net from 20 yards.

"Juan seems to be inspired by European football, he seems to revel in it," Ferguson said after the game. "It wasn't an easy chance to take. His timing of the shot was terrific."

Veron was certainly expressing himself more freely in Keane's absence, and delivering in the biggest matches. In December, he exorcized some demons by scoring a vital goal in a 2-0 win against Arsenal, and netted an incredible 30-yard free kick in a 3-0 win over West Ham a few days later. Veron also added another mind-boggling assist to his highlight reel as United saw off Birmingham City at Old Trafford, which embedded into Ferguson's memory.

"He hit a pass for Beckham with the outside of his foot, and no back-lift, and it bent away round the defence," Ferguson said in his 2013 autobiography. "Beckham ran on to it and lobbed the goalkeeper. In moments, he might be sublime." By the end of 2002, United had the swagger of genuine contenders once again.

Veron featured prominently as United progressed to the final of the League Cup, though they ultimately went down 2-0 in the final against Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Ferguson also guided the team back into the Champions League quarter-finals, with qualification sealed in style during a second-group-stage trip to Juventus.

The Red Devils stormed to a 3-0 victory in Turin thanks to a brilliant brace from Giggs and a Van Nistelrooy strike, dominating the Italian giants from the first minute to last. Giggs deservedly got most of the plaudits, but this was Veron's finest hour as a United player.

He put the ball on a plate for Giggs to put United ahead after getting the better of Gianluca Zambrotta on the right wing and generally dictated the tempo of the contest, putting his former Lazio team-mate Pavel Nedved and Edgar Davids in the shade. Veron was a true footballing artist, and the Stadio delle Alpi was his Sistine Chapel that night.

The magic was in shorter supply in the Premier League, though. Barring a wonderful incisive pass for Diego Forlan to score a last-gasp winner against Chelsea, Veron's impact was minimal after the turn of the year, and his season all-but ended in March, when he sustained an ankle injury against Leeds.

Ferguson rushed him back for the second leg of Champions League last-eight tie against Real Madrid with Scholes suspended, and he showed plenty of industry as United battled to a 4-3 win, but Los Blancos still advanced 6-5 on aggregate. That would turn out to be his final start for the club.

Veron sat out eight of United's final nine Premier League fixtures, playing only 21 minutes in a 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic on the penultimate weekend. The Red Devils won eight of those games and held Arsenal to a 2-2 draw at Highbury, overhauling an eight-point deficit to ultimately wrestle the trophy back from the North London outfit. It certainly didn't reflect well on Veron that they finished so strongly while he was on the sidelines.

Still, there's no question that he was worthy of his winner's medal. Veron was involved in five goals across 25 Premier League appearances, and although he was obviously ill-suited to English football as it was then, Ferguson never stopped believing in his ability as a potential match-winner.

Speculation over Veron's future raged throughout the summer of 2023, all while the United squad embarked on a pre-season tour of the United States, where, after picking up wins over Celtic and Club America, they came up against Juventus again in New Jersey.

All the build-up was dominated by rumours of Veron closing in on a £15m move to Chelsea, but he showed no sign of being distracted, setting up two goals as United thumped the Bianconeri 4-1. His trivela assist for Van Nistlerooy was the moment of the match, another example of the Argentine maestro's ability to see things on the pitch that mere mortals could not. One simple flick of his right boot and the Juve defence was carved open.

"Seba was the best player on the pitch, He didn't lose the ball once, all his passes came off and the assist for my goal was absolutely brilliant," Van Nistelrooy said after the final whistle. "There aren't many players capable of lifting the ball the way he did."

Ferguson echoed the Dutchman's sentiments while indicating that Veron would be staying put: "People keep seeing him on this tour and people still keep saying he is going. Unless he is going to be whisked from right under my nose they are wrong. Seba is a marvellous player. He has wonderful imagination, he always wants the ball and has a great engine. He was outstanding tonight."

However, less than a week later, Veron flew back to London and signed a four-year contract at Chelsea. According to the Estudiantes academy graduate, it was Ferguson who ushered him towards the exits.

"Ferguson wasn't sincere with me. Two months ago a couple of clubs expressed an interest and he said I wasn't for sale," Veron revealed. "He gave me the impression I was wanted. But when there was money on the table his conversation changed. That's a hard one for me. The story (that he was going to sign for Chelsea) was running and running and nobody in Manchester was denying it, so I asked Ferguson 'Do you want me in the squad?'.

"Then he came out with the line about Chelsea's offer being very good, financially interesting, tempting. I realised it was all about money. I said I'm not interested in money, but if that's what this is about... I guess that was the turning point for me."

Ferguson issued a cutting response in the Manchester Evening News, saying: "Seba knew all along what was happening, so to say I was two-faced about it is a disgrace." Rather, after signing Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba, the manager insisted he had an "embarrassment" of midfield options that led United to accept Chelsea's offer.

If Veron's spell at Old Trafford can be classed as underwhelming, his stint at Stamford Bridge falls into the bracket of a complete nightmare. He only made 14 appearances in all competitions under Claudio Ranieri in 2003-04, scoring once (on his debut against Liverpool), and spent five months on the sidelines due to a back injury.

The then-28-year-old was also subjected to a harrowing ordeal at his home in Barnes, South London, as a machete-wielding robber terrorised Veron, his girlfriend and their children during a £60,000 raid. Understandably, he never managed to settle in the English capital, and Chelsea loaned him out to Inter after just one season.

Reflecting on his decision to leave United for Chelsea, Veron admitted in 2019, "With United, the truth is that there are few things, very few, that I regret. But one is to have left Manchester. I had talks with my former colleagues at that time telling me that I had to stay. And at one moment I decided to leave because I wanted to play, because I didn't know... I should have stayed."

He also said to FourFourTwo in 2021: "I actually found it tougher to live in London than Manchester because I’m from La Plata, which is quite a small city. I wish I could have stayed at United longer, as I believe I could have done things differently. If I’d stayed in Manchester, I think I would have had more continuity on the pitch."

Veron does not hold any ill feeling towards Ferguson, though. On the contrary, he acknowledges that he didn't do enough to become a staple of the side.

"At some points, I wasn’t able to give him everything he expected from me consistently," Veron added to FourFourTwo. "He got it in a few matches but not in others, and if you want to be a great player, your game has to be stable. I couldn’t deliver it at Old Trafford."

Ferguson, meanwhile, accepted in his autobiography that he never figured out the best way to utilise Veron: "Although there were spectacular contributions, Veron just couldn’t play in our team He was an individual. He was the sort who, if you played red-v-yellow on the training ground, Veron would play for both teams. He just played everywhere. He went wherever he liked. If I managed him for 100 years, I wouldn’t know where to play him. He was the wildcard, the joker."

Several United stars who played alongside Veron have shared similar views over the years, including Butt: "As much as Veron was a great lad, and an unbelievable footballer, he didn’t know what it meant to be a United player. He didn’t know the feeling of the club. He couldn’t handle the pace. The fans didn’t want the little rollovers, the technical passes. They wanted blood and thunder."

During an Instagram live session in 2022, Ferdinand offered another theory: "I think Roy Keane was his problem. And it wasn’t Roy Keane’s fault, it’s just that his personality was bigger and more overpowering." Keane confessed as much to the Sunday Times in 2006, stating: "I was very hard on Seba and I was wrong. When he came, I was expecting miracles. When they didn't happen, I was always homing in on him."

United needed Veron to be something he wasn't. The disciplined tactical blueprint that yielded so much success for Ferguson in the first 11 years of the Premier League didn't leave room for a free-thinking regista of his ilk. Had Veron joined United a few years later, when 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 setups became fashionable, he surely would have thrived.

"The way Seba played, he’s coming out of Italy, and it’s the way in which actually a lot of midfield players now play, like Bruno Fernandes. He reminds me so much of Veron," Gary Neville said to Sky Sports after Fernandes' move to United in 2020. "But the game has developed to a point now whereby players can move into different positions, there’s a lot more fluidity in systems, 4-4-2 doesn’t exist anymore.

"I think Veron came in with an interchanging position mindset and a different mindset, into a team that had been set in the patterns. So for me that was why it just didn’t quite happen. It was nothing to do with him as a player or as an individual. He was a brilliant player."

In other words, Veron was a beautiful anomaly who arrived at Old Trafford speaking a language that the Premier League had not yet learned to understand. With his languid, cinematic grace, the Little Witch operated on a higher plane.