The Ferguson glory years at Manchester United saw many players come through Old Trafford. Some were legends of the game, some not so much. Either way, they're all United players for life. As we get further and further away from those great teams, it gets harder to believe that some of those players are still young enough to be plying their trade playing professional football.
Whatever is in the water at Manchester United, it seems that a whole load of their ex-players are somehow still playing ball. Here are some of the more memorable ex-United players that are somehow still playing the game.
Wes Brown
Somehow, Wes Brown,who spent the majority of his career injured, is still playing at the ripe old age of 38.
We say playing... He's currently togging out for Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, where he is reunited with former United coach René Meulensteen.
Brown's career has been on the wind down since he left United in 2011, but did enjoy a solid five years at Sunderland before leaving after the 2015/16 season.
Alex Ferguson once famously called Brown "without question the best natural defender this club has had for years."
Roy Carroll
Ah Roy Carroll. Best known for his spells at Manchester United and Olympiacos, the Northern Ireland international is currently back in Belfast with Linfield.
Carroll is still first choice at Windsor Park and is still even involved in Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland squads, having even gone to Euro 2016.
He had a fairly innocuous few years at Manchester United, and struggled after his release in 2005. Since then, he has disclosed his battle with alcoholism and is still playing at 40 years of age.
Eric Djemba-Djemba
One of the stranger signings in the Ferguson era, the arrival of Cameroon international in 2002 was often seen as being symbolic of a downturn in standards at Manchester United, which saw them go through a drought of three whole years without winning a Premier League title.
Djemba Djemba, despite his great name, had an abysmal 18-months at Manchester United before moving on to Aston Villa and then to places like Qatar, Denmark, Israel and even Scotland. Now 36, he's currently plying his trade in the fifth division of the Swiss league with FC Vallorbe-Ballaigues.
Diego Forlan
The Uruguyan legend is still playing just a month away from his 39th birthday.
Forlan might not have been the greatest United player of all time, but has had an incredible career since leaving Old Trafford. He became one of the most prolific strikers in Spain in spells with Villereal and Atletico Madrid, and won over 100 caps for Uruguay, who he also led to the semi finals of the 2010 World Cup.
In his twilight years, Forlan has been doing a bit of traveling, and has had spells in Brazil, Japan, Uruguay, and India. Finally, he has ended up in Hong Kong where he's currently banging in the goals for Kitchee.
Dimitar Berbatov
Perhaps the least surprising name on this list. You wouldn't be surprised to see Berbatov casually scoring goals and flicking cigarette butts into the crowd well into his 60s, the silky bastard.
His time at Manchester United was definitely successful - he scored 48 goals in 104 league appearances, winning the golden boot in the 2010-2011 season.
Unsurprisingly, he's ended up in India, and is currently the ying to Wes Brown's yang at the Kerala Blasters.
Alan Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZI9fMZc__E
The bleach blonde forward/midfielder who left his hometown club to join Manchester United, forever becoming a villain in Leeds.
Smith was coming into his own at Old Trafford when he suffered a horror leg break against Liverpool in 2006. He was arguably never the same player, and left United a year and a half later. He went on to play five years in Newcastle and ended up at Notts County four years ago, where he remains as a player/coach at the age of 37.
Anderson
Anderson, who left United in 2015, is amazingly only 30 years of age, and that's only since last week! He spend eight long years at Manchester United and, though often ravaged by injuries, was a consistent disappointment.
Since leaving Old Trafford, he has been playing back in Brazil with Internacional, but he was released in January and is currently without a club.
Poor Anderson.
