Alexander Buttner is one of Alex Ferguson's least heralded signings: he never caught fire, nor did he plumb the memorable depths of the likes of Massimo Taibi - a man memorably referred to in Triggs: The Autobiography of Roy Keane's Dog as the Blind Venetian.
Buttner joined United from Vitesse, signing a five-year contract. He failed to excel at the club, making 28 appearances in all competitions for the club before shuffling off to Dynamo Moscow in 2014. Following a loan move to Anderlecht, Buttner has now left Moscow for good, returning to where it all began: Vitesse.
Such circularity has caused Buttner to reflect on his career, and has done so in an interview with Dutch outlet Telesport.
During the course of the interview, he confirmed he is happy with what he has achieved thus far, and endeared himself to United fans everywhere when comparing his success to others.
I hear people talking on TV that I have only played a handful of games.
But in the case of Manchester United I played a lot more games for them that I could only dream of.
My adventure at Manchester United was not a failure. I am champion of England, who can say that? Not even Steven Gerrard did that.
Buttner did indeed win the Premier League title, in Alex Ferguson's final season as manager in 2012/13. Buttner scored in Ferguson's preposterous final game in charge: a 5-5 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
Under old rules, Buttner would not have won a medal, as he had not played in the requisite ten games. These rules were relaxed by 2013, however, and Ferguson granted Buttner a medal by special dispensation, as he told United's website at the time:
They [the fringe players] will get medals. It’s changed now. They give you an allocated number of medals and it’s up to you to distribute them how you want.
"I think that’s fair because, in Darren Fletcher’s case for instance, it’s only illness which has prohibited him from getting a medal [under the old 10 appearances rule]. I’m sure if he’d been available he would have been sitting here with one.
Büttner’s been great because he’s travelled to every away game with us, he’s been involved in every single training session, he’s played three times and been a substitute another 10 times, something like that. So I think that’s a contribution.
It’s very difficult for a goalkeeper to get the 10 appearances when your first-choice goalkeeper is performing the way David De Gea has. So I think Anders Lindegaard deserves his medal too. We’ll distribute the way we think is fair.
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