One of Manchester United’s more curious signings of the Sir Alex Ferguson era has decided to hang up his boots.
Former Manchester United winger Zoran Tosic has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37.
Manchester United signed Tosic in 2009 for a fee of £7 million. But he played only five times for the club before being sold, unable to convince Sir Alex Ferguson he should play a bigger role.
He has gone onto have a successful career, with his most recent stint coming at Greek side Lamia.
What went wrong for Zoran Tosic
Zoran Tosic was signed from Partizan Belgrade as part of a double deal along with Adem Ljajic. However, the move for Ljajic was later cancelled for work permit reasons.
Tosic signed at a time when Manchester United were flush with superstars, arriving in January 2009 when a star-studded attack featured Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
He made his debut for United as a substitute in the FA Cup game to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, but a real chance to prosper never followed, even after the Portugal star left the club in the summer along with Tevez.
Instead of stepping up the following season, Tosic spent most of his time in the Reserves, playing under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In six games for the under-21s, Tosic scored four goals and provided three assists, showing glimmers of potential.
But keen to earn a place in the Serbia team for the 2010 World Cup, Tosic pushed for a loan move, moving to FC Koln midway through the 2009/20 season.
Tosic’s form in Germany showed his quality; he scored five goals and provided two assists in 14 games and earned his international spot.
CSKA Moscow came calling with a £8 million bid, and Manchester United accepted, making a minor profit on the winger.
Tosic later admitted this could have been a mistake, telling The Mail: “Maybe I should have stayed and fought for my place. This was Man United after all.”
Zoran Tosic achievements
Zoran Tosic’s time at CSKA Moscow has a major success, despite his regret at not spending more time at Manchester United.
Tosic won three league titles in Russia, two Russian Cups. In four seasons at the club he scored 47 goals and provided 41 assists.
He had two spells at Partizan Belgrade where he won six trophies, and also won the Kazakh Premier League with a spell at Tobol in 2020/21.
It was at international level where Tosic really proved his worth, making 76 caps for Serbia, scoring 11 goals, which included a strike against a Portugal team featuring his former Manchester United teammate Nani.
Zoran Tosic matches for Manchester United and against
Zoran Tosic played five games for Manchester United. Yet these totalled just 84 minutes of game time.
These were all substitute appearances, a 13 minute showing against West Brom and three minutes against Hull City in the Premier League.
His debut came when he replaced Ronaldo in a 18 minute cameo against Tottenham in a FA Cup fourth round match.
Tosic’s other games for the club came in the League Cup, a 37 minute appearance against Barnsley, followed by an eight minute showing against Tottenham.
He was unable to make an impression, and while United went on to win the League Cup Final in 2010 against Aston Villa, by this time he had been sent out on loan.
Zoran Tosic played four games against Manchester United. Luck of the draw gave Tosic a chance to do what he never managed under Sir Alex Ferguson, to start a competitive match at Old Trafford.
Tosic featured twice against Louis van Gaal’s United for CSKA Moscow in 2015 in the Champions League group stages.
CSKA’s home match was a 1-1 draw, with Anthony Martial scoring for United, while former teammate Wayne Rooney struck the winner in a 1-0 victory for the Red Devils at Old Trafford, with Tosic playing 75 minutes.
He was then drawn against United again in 2019 with Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League, with his former under-21s boss Solskjaer in charge of the first team.
Tosic played in both games as United won 1-0 in Serbia with Martial on target from the spot, and 3-0 at Old Trafford with Marcus Rashford, Martial, and Mason Greenwood scoring the goals.
Zoran Tosic statement
Zoran Tosic posted a lengthy message on Instagram to announce his retirement, citing his career as a ‘dream come true.
He wrote “Unfortunately, all good things come to an end one day. I hoped that this moment would never come, but now I am sure that the time has come to end my football playing career.
“As a kid, I dreamed of playing for Partizan, Serbia and Manchester United, and I was lucky enough to make my dreams come true at the age of 21. From Banat and Partizan to Manchester United, Cologne and CSKA Moscow. Back to Partizan, then Taizhou Yuanda, Tobol and finally PAS Lamia.
“Many trophies, victories, ups and downs, but love was always there. Thanks to my family, who made this trip possible.
“Thanks to the coaches, teammates, everyone who has been with me for all 20 years. I am especially proud of 10 years of playing for my country, Serbia. I always had a special desire to perform for the national team. Finally, a big thank you to the fans of the clubs where I performed, I always felt sincere support.
“I’m getting out of football boots, but football still remains my greatest love and passion. See you in another role.”
Zoran Tosic clubs
- Banat Zrenjanin (Serbia)
- Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
- Manchester United (England)
- Koln (Germany)
- CSKA Moscow (Russia)
- Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
- Taizhou Yuanda (China)
- Tobol (Kazakhstan)
- Lamia (Greece)
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