Sir Alex Ferguson’s biggest Man Utd transfer flop has just achieved World Cup fairytale

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Sir Alex Ferguson was guilty of some major transfer missteps at Manchester United.

The likes of Kleberson, Massimo Taibi, Juan Sebastian Veron and Eric Djemba-Djemba all secured places in Old Trafford folklore, albeit for the wrong reasons.

But there was another player who was perhaps the worst of the lot, and he cost Man United £7million.

After an unsuccessful stint in the Premier League, he retreated from the glare of the media headlines and has now surprisingly gone on to enjoy success on the international stage.

Bebe’s Cape Verde qualify for the World Cup

Bebe was as far from a household name as you could get when United signed him out of nowhere in 2010.

The Red Devils paid the buyout clause in his contract just five weeks after he had joined Vitoria de Guimaraes from Estrela da Amadora in the Portuguese third tier.

Sir Alex Ferguson had been recommended the relatively unheard of forward by his former assistant, Carlos Queiroz, and he soon became the third recruit in a summer window in which Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez also arrived.

However, after making just seven appearances over his miserable four-year spell at Old Trafford, Bebe left permanently for Benfica. He is now on the books at Spanish side CD Ibiza.

His international career also took a while to get off the ground, after he failed to make an appearance for his native Portugal. He eventually went on to declare for minnows Cape Verde in 2022.

The African nation are 70th in the current FIFA rankings, but they sealed their spot at next summer’s World Cup after beating Eswatini 3-0 on Monday night.

Bebe has earned 27 caps for Cape Verde, scoring six goals in that time, and although he has not made an appearance since November 2024, he played a part in their success.

Indeed, he started twice during their World Cup qualification campaign and, at the age of 36, will hold on to a slender hope of making their squad for their historic trip to the United States.

Bebe says Man United departure was the best moment of his life

Bebe admitted he thought he had been told a joke when he heard of United’s interest in 2010, but his grand Premier League dream turned out to be anything but.

“Every day I called my agent to ask him to get me out. It was a bad time,” Bebe told Goal. “When you do not play, even if you are at a great club, then you are not happy, so why continue?

“I remember that I was going for a United game with the youth team, and my agent called me and told me I had been sold to Benfica. It was the best moment of my life!”