Signed from: Barcelona (£1,400,000), August 1996
Debut: 3-0 win vs Wimbledon, August 17th 1996
League Record: 15 games (+19 as sub), 8 goals
Sold to: Alaves (free transfer), June 2000
If Darren Ferguson had problems having the boss as his old man, how about the pressure of your dad being one of the greatest players of all time? That was the shadow Jordi Cruyff had to always deal with throughout his playing career.
An attacking midfielder, he was born in Holland despite his dad being a huge Barcelona star at the time, though the middle name he went by (his first name is Johan) was a name from Catalonia. Jordi got his break under his pop at Barca, and did good enough to get in the Netherlands squad for the 1996 European Championships. Unfortunately for him, the tournament was a nightmare for a Dutch squad blighted by in-fighting, summed up by a 4-1 kicking from England. To compound the pain, Cruyff Senior was sacked by Barcelona and Jordi quickly realised he wouldn't fit in the new regime.
Jordi was a decent player blighted by injuries at United that prevented him from ever being a regular in the first team. It must have frustrating for him, as he was often shifted our wide left as cover for Ryan Giggs, a role he clearly wasn't suited to. After his first season, appearances became more limited, hard going for a player who clearly had enough talent to do better. A loan spell back to Celta Vigo in 1999 signposted where his future was, and he eventually returned to Spain when his contract expired.
Later, he would have spells in Ukraine and Maltra before moving into coaching. He's currently General Manager of Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
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