It is 10 years since former Manchester United youngster Michele Fornasier quit Old Trafford. Now he is found in Italy’s lower leagues.
2013 was a year of change at Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill quit their roles, to be replaced fatefully by David Moyes and Ed Woodward.
Lost amid what would become a decade-defining summer, was Italian youngster Michele Fornasier slipping unnoticed out the exit door.
It has not worked out too well since for Fornasier. The 29-year-old finds himself playing in Italy’s Serie C.
Michele Fornasier signing sparked FIFA complaint
Manchester United’s move for Michele Fornasier in 2009 got off to a controversial start. These were the days when United could raid Europe’s academies, outlawed in 2020 by the UK’s Brexit regulations.
United announced a deal for Fornasier on his 16th birthday, angering his club Fiorentina. BBC Sport reported how the Serie A side made a complaint to FIFA.
No wrongdoing was found on United’s part, and Fornasier went on to feature in the Red Devils’ 2010/11 FA Youth Cup winning side alongside Paul Pogba.
He went on to play a key role for Manchester United’s under-21 side. The young centre-back formed a promising partnership alongside fellow prospect Tom Thorpe, helping United’s young guns to win the title in their age group.
The highlight of his spell was a late winning goal scored for the under-21s against Liverpool, assisted by future first team regular Jesse Lingard.
Fornasier drove his Old Trafford exit
There was some surprise when Fornasier was named among those released in June 2013, however, he later revealed he was the one who drove his exit, joining Sampdoria on a free transfer.
Speaking at the time to Genova Today, he said: “The prospect was to do another year with the reserves or end up on loan in a lesser caliber team. So I preferred a change of scenery, returning to my country and choosing Sampdoria.”
Fornasier admitted it was not an easy choice to leave Manchester United, where he appreciated mixing with top stars.
He said: “Getting to play at United was a dream. Having to deal, even just in training, with champions of the calibre of Rooney, Giggs and Van Persie, seeing Ferguson on the sidelines watching, makes you realize how big an opportunity is passing through your hands.
“It was not easy to make the decision to leave such a reality.”
Looking back, it’s fair to wonder if Fornasier made the wrong choice in leaving at just 19. A year later Louis van Gaal was in charge, and gave chances to youngsters like Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett, who were behind Michele Fornasier in the pecking order.
A tough decade leads to Monopoli
Now 29, Michele Fornasier’s dreams of top tier football appear to have passed him by. He is still playing, now turning out for Serie C side Monopoli.
So how did he get there? His move to Sampdoria was not the smooth transition to first team football he had hoped.
While he made his first team debut in 2013/14, these involved only 10 Serie A appearances and he had fallen out of favour by the following season.
Fornasier then signed with Pescara, where he did find some consistency. He spent five years at the club, most memorably helping them to win promotion from Serie B in 2015/16, when he played 34 games.
22 tough appearances in Serie A followed, in which his team won only one of the matches he played. He would eventually be loaned to Venezia in 2018/19, with his Pescara contract winding down after 92 appearances.
After a few years hopping around between Parma, Cremonese, and a loan at Trapani, Fornasier is now playing for Serie C side Monopoli.
He has been at Monopoli since 2021, where he is two years into a three-year deal.
The former Italy under-19 international should still have some football left in him, but looking back, those years at Manchester United’s academy were as good as it got.
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