Manchester United sold me for £8.8m and then I became my nation's record goalscorer

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Manchester United offloaded some fantastic footballers in the years after Sir Alex Ferguson retired – as the Red Devils attempted to navigate life after the iconic Scot.

Talents such as Danny Welbeck, Chris Smalling, Wilfried Zaha, Anthony Elanga and Angel Gomes have been cast aside in recent times – with Manchester United spending heavily on players who were arguably worse, like Antony, Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho, consequently struggling to perform well.

Many have gone on to thrive elsewhere as the Red Devils tried to succeed after Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, with Gomes now playing for England, Newcastle bidding £50m for Elanga and Zaha becoming Crystal Palace’s record Premier League goalscorer with 68 strikes.

However, there was another talent in Javier Hernandez who found utopia on the international scene after being sold by Manchester United.

Javier Hernandez became Mexico’s record goalscorer after Manchester United exit

Back in August 2015, Manchester United opted to sell the Mexico international – commonly known as Chicharito – to Bayer Leverkusen in an £8.8m deal.

Hernandez shone in his debut campaign with the German side, impressively scoring 26 goals in 43 appearances while also providing five assists.

However, the man from Guadalajara hit his greatest landmark in May 2017 – when he scored against Croatia to become Mexico’s record goalscorer with 47 strikes to his name.

It took Hernandez 90 games to break Jared Borgetti’s record.

Hernandez – who now plays for Chivas back in Mexico – has since taken his tally up to 52 goals in 109 appearances for his country, becoming a bonafide legend in his homeland after leaving Manchester United.

Manchester United should have kept Chicharito for a few more years

Natural goalscorers like Hernandez are hard to come by – and we feel the Mexican could have been quite useful for the likes of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho in the years after Ferguson.

The now 36-year-old impressively scored 18 goals in 36 appearances during the Scot’s final campaign at Old Trafford, although Moyes did not seem to appreciate his poaching talents at all, Van Gaal less so.

Hernandez has actually spoken about Moyes – admitting the man from Glasgow could not get the best out of him, having crossed paths again at West Ham.

He told Paramount: “At West Ham, situations happened there that cannot be planned. Obviously I had a past that was not the most profitable. For example I was with David Moyes in Manchester and everyone knew it. Slaven Bilic, who, at the time, did everything so I could go to West Ham and then they fired him and hired Moyes.

“If there is a coach in the world that we know isn't going to be a formula that isn't favourable for your star signing who is playing badly at the moment, and you hire him. Those things are out of my hands, you know? It was never a problem of work or professionalism, it was a matter of taste, and sometimes there are coaches who like you more than others.”

Nevertheless, Hernandez was still able to make history for Mexico, and can look back on his career with great fondness when he eventually hangs up his boots.