Sir Alex Ferguson's League Cup decision shows Manchester United how to deal with unwanted stars

At present Manchester United find themselves with some players who are keen to ply their trade away from the Theatre of Dreams.

Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek have both managed to gain loan spells away from the club at Sevilla and Everton respectively.

The likes of Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson remain on the books at Old Trafford but look increasingly unlikely to be at the club next season whether that be through temporary or permanent departures.

It appeared at times during January that United's interim boss was struggling to get players out of the door.

Ralf Rangnick's rather public falling out with Martial following the Aston Villa draw covered neither men in glory and portrayed United in a bad light, no matter which side you were on.

One person who did not struggle to make sure want-away stars left with the least amount of fuss was Sir Alex Ferguson.

The most high-profile example of this was his treatment of Ruud van Nistelrooy following the League Cup final against Wigan Athletic in the 2005/06 season.

Van Nistelrooy had arguably one of the better seasons in the United squad that campaign but was confined to the bench for the showpiece event at the Millennium Stadium.

Following a 4-0 victory, the Dutchman was outraged by his decision to be benched and even swore at Sir Alex.

It would prove to be the beginning of the end for his United career.

We know as much thanks to the comments of Rio Ferdinand about the incident back in 2020.

He told The Beautiful Game podcast: "I think one of the big catalysts for Ruud leaving was the League Cup final.

"He didn't start the game, but he said that the manager promised he was going to come on. But he didn't come on.

"Ruud went nuts. He was going crazy on the bench,