Why has only 1 German ever played for United?

Icemav

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A nearby country with one of the biggest populations in Europe, similar climate, produces dozens of great footballers every generation yet only one has played for United?

What's the deal?
Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
 

horsechoker

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Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
It doesn't really answer the question as many Germans play abroad, in England and even for other teams in the north.
 

TwoSheds

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I'm sure it's been said but we had Markus Neumayr and Ron Robert Ziegler on the books. Think they were German.
 

Bondi77

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Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
Didn’t realise that fish had fingers!
 

Marwood

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Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
Because there are sometimes more important things than sun and a decent paella?
 

TrueRed1999

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A nearby country with one of the biggest populations in Europe, similar climate, produces dozens of great footballers every generation yet only one has played for United?

What's the deal?
Think Sir Alex tried a few times to get Mueller and a few others however, many German Talent love staying where they are mainly Bayern or Madrid for the history and climate, yes our history is elite but rainy Manchester or Glorious Sunshine of Spain. Theres been plenty of German talent I wish had played for us and gutted we got Bastian when we did few years earlier he would have been a crucial player. Thats the other thing Bayern usually only allow players to leave when there no use to them ie end of their career or form has completely gone. Dortmund sell because well they have too. Mueller would have been class for us ah what could have been.
 

Bondi77

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There really has not been many good ones that have played in England,
Klinsman at Spurs comes to mind but not much else.
 

Jippy

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Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
It is odd, but then again less so when you consider most English people's abject foreign language skills.

Which English players were actually successful abroad? Beckham and Lineker kind of, Hargreaves yes but grew up there, then maybe randoms like Ince, Hately and Hoddle?
 

Floyd

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It is odd, but then again less so when you consider most English people's abject foreign language skills.

Which English players were actually successful abroad? Beckham and Lineker kind of, Hargreaves yes but grew up there, then maybe randoms like Ince, Hately and Hoddle?
Ashley Young. :smirk:
 

DWelbz19

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Why don't many English players play abroad? Better climates, fitter women, better cuisine..... we have a very introverted league with English players who cant survive without Momma making them their fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.
To a degree, sure. But you can say that about Italians rarely leaving their league too. End of the day it is a profession. Most people would prefer to remain in familiar digs on good money than have to learn a brand new culture/language on similar - or as the English league reigns supreme - slightly less money.

It's changing as time progresses, though. You have the likes of Sancho, Bellingham, Lookman, Madueke, Tomori, Vieira, Mavididi, Gomes, Edwards etc. etc. scattered across Europe's bigger leagues at a very young age.
 

Bondi77

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It is odd, but then again less so when you consider most English people's abject foreign language skills.

Which English players were actually successful abroad? Beckham and Lineker kind of, Hargreaves yes but grew up there, then maybe randoms like Ince, Hately and Hoddle?
Waddle, Platt, McManaman, Keegan, Sancho, Cunningham.
 

JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo

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We tried for Ballack and a few others but they went elsewhere. I genuinely think the ones of the profile/ability we wanted were already at Bayern
 

032Devil

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For one of the richest clubs in the game, United have almost never gone for the most amazing talents arising in other countries especially in South America. Pele, Maradona, and the like. There have been thousands of great talent but United generally tend to be parochial and conservative in their choice. The other point is, United will pay high prices but never go the extent that eg Real Madrid or Barcelona would.

The could have bought Haaland and Bellingham but weren't prepared to pay that bit extra and their valuation has risen no end.
 

Tom Cato

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For one of the richest clubs in the game, United have almost never gone for the most amazing talents arising in other countries especially in South America. Pele, Maradona, and the like. There have been thousands of great talent but United generally tend to be parochial and conservative in their choice. The other point is, United will pay high prices but never go the extent that eg Real Madrid or Barcelona would.

The could have bought Haaland and Bellingham but weren't prepared to pay that bit extra and their valuation has risen no end.

Haaland (Raiola) wanted a sell-on clause
Bellingham outright snubbed United over lack of guaranteed playtime that Dortmund offered.

What we wanted to pay for them was not an issue, we even rolled out Sir Alex for Jude.
 

032Devil

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Haaland (Raiola) wanted a sell-on clause
Bellingham outright snubbed United over lack of guaranteed playtime that Dortmund offered.

What we wanted to pay for them was not an issue, we even rolled out Sir Alex for Jude.
Ok, United could have put on a sell-on clause. They probably said the same thing to Dortmund. I stand corrected on Bellingham. But, as a general observation I think I'm about correct.
 

Raoul

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It seems more so a coincidence than anything else, coupled with perhaps the lack of interest among top German players to leave the Bundesliga.
 

GueRed

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I'm sure it's been said but we had Markus Neumayr and Ron Robert Ziegler on the books. Think they were German.
Yes. With his blond locks playing in midfield Neumayr was billed as the German David Beckham for our reserves...

Ron-Robert Zieler the goalie has managed to forge a better career out of the two. A Bundsliga keeper who has a few German National team caps to his name.
 

The Oracle

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Personally I believe the reasons that German football players never sign for Utd, is because of the German history associated with Utd...

- the German's bombed Old Trafford during World War 2
- the Munich air disaster

I honestly think our history overwhelms Germans.
 

lsd

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Personally I believe the reasons that German football players never sign for Utd, is because of the German history associated with Utd...

- the German's bombed Old Trafford during World War 2
- the Munich air disaster

I honestly think our history overwhelms Germans.

I seriously doubt that has anything to do with it
 

harms

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Personally I believe the reasons that German football players never sign for Utd, is because of the German history associated with Utd...

- the German's bombed Old Trafford during World War 2
- the Munich air disaster

I honestly think our history overwhelms Germans.
So this is why Serie A historically had the best of their expats? Because Italy was their ally during the war?

I mean, seriously, Germans did a lot worse than bombing a stadium throughout the WW2, if they would’ve allowed that part of their history to dictate their lives, they wouldn’t leave the country at all. And how can Munich influence them? I can understand the idea of a collective guilt for the WW2 (although I don’t think that it’s applicable in this case), but why would a random German player feel overwhelmed because of Munich?
 

tenpoless

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Dont know who you're referring to. No german ever joined Manchester United but I heard Manchester tennis club had a new member from Germany several years ago and he played tennis with his girlfriend regularly.
 

Boavista

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It seems more so a coincidence than anything else, coupled with perhaps the lack of interest among top German players to leave the Bundesliga.
Yeah pretty sure this is the case. On top of that there weren't that many good German players around in the 2000s. Before that players didn't move around that much, or if they did Italy was a better destination.
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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Bundesliga is a major competitive league and like Italians, the Germans didn't move abroad as often as the Spanish or French did until recently. Any German player of the requisite quality to play in Fergie's United squads would already be at Bayern.