Manchester United's 2012-13 Title Winning XI: Where Are They Now?

Manchester United's 2012-13 Premier League campaign was to be their final season under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. He was their manager for 26-and-a-half years, which made him the longest-serving manager of any English club.

Ferguson won 38 trophies with the Red Devils, and was the oldest manager (71) serving in the Premier League or the Football League at that time. He announced that he was set to retire from his position on 8th May 2013.

By the end of the season in April 2013, Manchester United had won the Premier League title yet again. This would make them the first side to ever win 20 English top-flight titles. And in the 21 seasons in the Premier League that were under Ferguson's reign, a total of 13 were won by United.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at Fergie's final team and see where they are now.

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#1 David de Gea - Manchester United

Since arriving at Manchester United for a fee in the region of £22.5m in the summer of 2011, David de Gea has been firmly rooted in the Red Devils' set up.

The Spaniard was viewed by Ferguson as the ideal replacement for the aging Edwin Van der Sar, who was on the verge of retirement at the time, and he featured in a total of 29 Premier League games in his first season, earning 13 clean sheets.

Seven years on, De Gea is still at Old Trafford, despite the incessant gossip and speculation that surrounds him every time the transfer window opens. He has been linked with some of the best clubs in the world, yet has stayed loyal to United and now operates as well as ever under Jose Mourinho.

De Gea is still only 27-years-old, which means he's now entering the age bracket (27-31) for when goalkeepers are deemed to be in their prime, meaning that things are only expected to get better for the Spaniard as the years roll on.

#2 Rafael - Olympique Lyon

Rafael and his twin brother, Fabio, were both full-backs that featured heavily for Manchester United between 2009 and 2012, before they were loaned out to other clubs and eventually sold.

It was Rafael who featured more prominently for the Red Devils - not necessarily because he was better, but because there was far less depth at right-back where Rafael played, than where Fabio played (left-back). Fabio would be shipped out on loan to QPR for the 2012-13 season.

Manchester United signed Rafael from Fluminese U17s in 2008 for £2.7m, and he was promptly placed into United's U18 set up. He was developed in this group until his promotion to the first team that summer.

Rafael featured a total of 38 times across all competitions in the 2012-13 season, scoring three goals in the process.

Louis Van Gaal later sold Rafael to Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2015 for £2.88m, despite Transfermarkt reporting his market value to be around £9m at the time. Many fans were disappointed with the hasty departure, but the Brazilian simply did not fit into Van Gaal's system and that was that.

Rafael had a promising start to life in Lyon, and over the course of the next three seasons, the full-back featured a total of 72 times. But during the summer this year, there was a plethora of speculation surrounding the Brazilian, with rumours that he was one of many players who were set to be sold. The predictions did not come to fruition, however, and Rafael has kept his place in the side for now.

#3 Rio Ferdinand - Retired (BT Sport Television Pundit)

Rio Ferdinand was a prominent figure in Manchester United's defence for over a decade, having signed for the club in July 2002 for a record-breaking £30m. He left Old Trafford in the summer of 2014 to join Queen's Park Rangers on a free transfer. He retired at the end of the season.

Ferdinand was a product of West Ham's youth set-up and featured heavily for them for four seasons from 1997 to 2001. During the 2000-01 season, Ferdinand secured a move to Leeds United in November for £18m. He was only at Elland Road for a single season before Ferguson swooped in.

Rio Ferdinand is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He also announced his intention to become a professional boxer back in September 2017, but was refused a boxing licence in May 2018.

#4 Jonny Evans - Leicester City

Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Jonny Evans was developed in the Manchester United youth set-up and he was loaned out to Belgian side Royal Antwerp in 2006, which was then followed by two loan spells to Sunderland until he finally got himself a spot in the first team.

From the 2008-09 season to the 2015-16 season, Evans was often used as a backup player but would notch up around 15 Premier League appearances per campaign. But it was in 2011-12 when Fergie recognised the ability Evans had, and he played in a total of 29 out of 38 Premier League games.

Evans would eventually be sold to West Bromwich Albion by Louis Van Gaal in 2015. He spent three seasons at the Hawthorns before being relegated to the Championship in the 2017-18 season. He was purchased by Leicester City in the summer, who activated his relegation release clause worth £3m.

30-year-old Evans is still active in the Premier League with Leicester City, five years after being included in Fergie's title-winning XI.

#5 Patrice Evra - Free Agent

Evra signed for Manchester United from Monaco in 2006 for £7m and played an important role at left-back for the Red Devils, up until his departure to Juventus in 2014.

The Frenchman spent three years in Turin before being moved on to Marseille on a free transfer. Though he was released by the club ten months after signing due to an altercation with a fan before a match.

In February 2018, he was picked up by West Ham United, where he only made a total of five appearances (two as a substitute), before being let go in the summer. He has been without a club ever since.

#6 Antonio Valencia - Manchester United

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Antonio Valencia joined Manchester United in 2009 from Wigan Athletic, but it took several years before he became a prominent figure in the squad. He began his time at United as a right winger, before being pulled back to right midfield in Ferguson's final years as boss. Now, Valencia is United's No.1 choice right-back.

He remains at the club after all this time and has even been assigned the Captain's armband, which is a testament to his tenacity and determination on the pitch. Valencia is a veteran at United now and is bound to be regarded as a legend upon retirement.

#7 Michael Carrick - Retired (Manchester United Assistant Manager)

Michael Carrick spent 12 years with Manchester United after signing from Spurs in 2006. He was used primarily as a centre midfielder, but could also be employed as an emergency centre back.

Carrick was developed in West Ham's youth set up before being promoted to the first team in the summer of 1999. He spent five years with the Hammers before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 2004 for a measly £3m, a far cry from the £24m which was splashed out on him by Ferguson just two years later.

Michael Carrick is now the assistant manager at Manchester United, working alongside Jose Mourinho.

#8 Shinji Kagawa - Borussia Dortmund

United fans had high hopes for the Japanese midfielder when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2012, and although he played well enough to be included sporadically in the side that won the title that season, homesickness meant that he was never at his best. As a result, he would move back to Dortmund in 2014 for half of what Ferguson had paid for him.

He remains in Germany with Borussia Dortmund to this day, though many wonder what might have been had he stayed with Manchester United.

#9 Ryan Giggs - Retired (Manager of Wales national team)

After switching from Manchester City to Manchester United's youth side in 1987, Giggs was promoted to United's U18 group in 1989. Two years later, he was bumped to the first team. He remained with Manchester United for the entirety of his career, cementing himself as a true Man United legend.

Ryan Giggs was appointed the assistant manager at Manchester United in 2014 alongside Louis Van Gaal. He departed from the role in 2016 following the appointment of Jose Mourinho.

In January 2018, Ryan Giggs was announced as the manager of the Wales national team, succeeding Chris Coleman, who went to Sunderland.

#10 Wayne Rooney - D.C United

A product of Everton youth, Wayne Rooney was a superstar at the tender age of 16. He earned himself a £30m move to Manchester United just two years after being promoted to the Everton first team.

Rooney spent 13 years at Old Trafford and became one of the top goalscorers in Premier League history by the end of it. In the summer of 2017, he made the switch to his boyhood club, Everton, on a free transfer. However, this lasted just a year before he packed his bags and set off for the United States of America to play in Washington D.C for D.C United.

He's still playing for D.C United in the States, scoring a goal here and there for the mere fun of it, and is looking as if he really enjoys his football right now. After all, he's against considerably weaker opposition than he was used to in the Premier League, so it's purely a kick-about for him at this time.

#11 Robin Van Persie - Feyenoord

Ferguson signed Robin Van Persie from Arsenal in the summer of 2012, just before his final season with United began. Van Persie netted 26 goals in 38 appearances for Manchester United that season and was a pivotal part of their title-winning campaign.

Van Persie stayed with the Red Devils for a couple more seasons before he was sold by Louis Van Gaal to Fenerbahce in 2015.

Now, in 2018, Robin Van Persie is back at his boyhood club, Feyenoord, in the Netherlands, after he moved there on a free transfer in January. It's rumoured that Van Persie had cancelled his contract with the Turkish side.