Marouane Fellaini’s agent denies retirement plans – Man United News And Transfer News

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After five years of service, former Manchester United and Everton midfielder, Marouane Fellaini has left the Chinese side, Shandong.

Italian journalist, Fabrizio Romano, tweeted that the midfielder is now available as a free agent after deciding to call quits on his time in China. There had been earlier reports that the former Belgium international was due to retire but his agent has now denied such claims.

🇧🇪 Marouane Fellaini leaves China side Shandong after 5 years as legend of the club.

He’s now available as free agent, ready for new chapter as his agent denied all recent reports on retirement. pic.twitter.com/xCxz7pEuSn

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 4, 2023

Fellaini enjoyed a successful stint in China that resulted in him leaving as a legend of the club in the opinion of Romano. The Belgian certainly was productive for the Chinese outfit as he registered 12 goals and 2 assists in 29 matches during the 2022/23 season.

In fact, according to transfermarkt.com, the physically imposing midfielder enjoyed his most productive spell in front of goal while in China. Fellaini found the net 50 times in 139 appearances for Shandong Taishan.

Unfortunately for the man from Etterbeek, his career would not always be deemed such a success elsewhere. The player initially impressed for Everton when he joined from the Belgian side Standard Liège. The giant midfielder proved to be a thorn in the side of many Premier League teams during his time on Merseyside.

One of the most memorable displays was his goal in the incredible 4-4 draw at Old Trafford between United and Everton which would go on to massively impede the Red Devils’ title aspirations that season.

Sadly, things would start to fall apart for the midfielder when his former coach, David Moyes, decided to bring him to Old Trafford in 2013 as his first and only summer signing. To be fair to the Belgian, the 2013 summer window was generally accepted as a nightmare for the Red Devils. Players like Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas were chased all summer to no avail.

If Fellaini had been brought in as one of several recruits and earlier in the summer instead of deadline day for an eye-watering £27m at the time, he would have faced significantly less scrutiny.

This was not the case, and the player’s time at the club is generally viewed in the same way marmite is. The player faced a huge amount of criticism during his tenure at the club from fans and players alike. He was even booed by United fans at Old Trafford at times, which is a rare occurrence at the club.

The Belgian international was often singled out for lacking the style or technical ability to be a Manchester United midfielder. To be fair, most would struggle when compared to the silk of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes. Although it is true that the player had a particular awkwardness to his play and seemed much happier to trap the ball with his chest than his feet.

Despite the derisory nature of pundits’ and fans’ opinion on Fellaini, one thing was always a common factor. His managers at the club adored him and played him with frequency. David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho would often praise his dedication and willingness to follow tactical instruction.

Interestingly it was actually under Van Gaal where Fellaini began to win over some fans. The midfielder failed to score a single goal in his debut campaign of 2013/14 but found the back of the net seven times in 2014/15 season, which would be his most productive season for the club.

The Belgian also had a knack for scoring and getting involved in big goals. The Belgian scored in a 4-2 win over Manchester City in 2015. He would also score goals in the quarter final and semi final of the FA Cup in 2016. The midfielder also provided an assist to Juan Mata to score the equalizer in the final against Crystal Palace. Fellaini would also play 87 times for Belgium scoring 18 goals. It also must be stated that this was during Belgium’s much celebrated golden generation.

Whether you like marmite or not and no matter what you think of Marouane Fellaini, he has had an interesting career to date. It will be intriguing to see where the big Belgian ends up next.