As if watching Champions League football from the comfort of their sofas wasn't bad enough for Manchester United fans, the quarter-finals' ensemble cast is a who's who of talent that has escaped the club's clutches.

David Moyes passed on Thiago Alcantara, who later went on to sign for Pep Guardiola and then Jurgen Klopp, while Robert Lewandowski, who is already out of the Champions League with Bayern Munich, was on Sir Alex Ferguson's radar in 2012. Moyes also talked with Toni Kroos' agent, and Jose Mourinho had Ruben Dias on his shortlist. Moyes was reportedly interested in Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez.

Karim Benzema and Luka Modric are the two who have the most to bemoan. Assist-to-goal supremacy reached its height against Chelsea, with Modric's assist rescuing a point for Rodrygo, and Benzema's fourth goal in two games against the champions completing an enthralling show.

To give up is not an option, tweeted Modric in English. Modric's sorcery is on par with anything in the film The Prestige, and he is a football magician. Despite receiving a lavish Ballon d'Or award in 2018, the Croatian has been the best central midfielder in the world for the past decade, passing as prudently as Xavi and as creatively as Andres Iniesta, and he has been the best in the world for the last decade.

Ferguson compared Modric to Paul Scholes, and he was regarded as the natural successor to Scholes when the latter announced his retirement from the game in 2011. At the time of his death, Modric was one year into a six-year contract with Tottenham, who had excelled during their inaugural Champions League campaign in 2010-11, defeating Inter Milan and AC Milan before losing to Real Madrid in the final. Only they finished fifth in the Premier League, and the Europa League was calling their name.

Chelsea made two bids for Modric, the first for £22 million and the second for £27 million. Modric, by now one of the most intelligent midfielders in the Premier League, had his attention drawn by the Blues. Modric was empowered by this, and he went on to criticize Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and file a transfer request. Modric stayed for another season before joining Real Madrid for a reported £30 million. Levy was unfazed, and the deal was completed.

Ferguson had a sneaking suspicion that entering the auction would be a waste of time. Manchester United have not signed a player from Tottenham since Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, and Levy afterwards characterized dealing with him as "more unpleasant than my hip operation."

In his final autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United's interest in Modric was never concrete. Throughout Ferguson's final four years in charge, United only spent £20 million on Robin van Persie, and they did not sign a single central midfielder during that time. On the signing front, there was everything from the lackluster (Michael Owen) to the obscure (Gabriel Obertan) to the weird (David Beckham) (Bebe).
United had opted to limit their transfer strategy to players aged 26 and under who had a high resale value, according to the storyline. As it turned out, the Glazer family had realized that the club could handle Ferguson's genius and still win or challenge for the title, reach Champions League finals, and lift the odd cup, all while spending conservatively. When Manchester United withdrew their interest in signing the youngster Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade in late 2009, the Glazer family attempted to obtain £500 million through the sale of bonds.

Ferguson questioned the 'value in the market' on numerous occasions. United finished either champions or runners-up in each of Ferguson's previous four seasons by a single point or goal differential, so Ferguson's rhetoric was convincing enough for many supporters to swallow it and believe that Tom Cleverley was the team's future.

For some, it took a few appearances before they began to see Cleverley as a spitting copy of Scholes, who was notably shown in a hysterical photoshopped image that was a parody of the poster for the George Clooney film The Ides of March (which Cleverley appeared in).

United fans were searching for Wesley Sneijder when Cleverley made his debut for the club in the 2011 Community Shield, leading a 3-2 comeback victory over Manchester City at a time when United fans were searching for Cleverley. That endeavor proved to be completely futile. Ferguson's brother, Martin Ferguson, who works as a club scout, made the ridiculous assertion that United were never interested. The only person who was quoted on the record about United's offer to Sneijder was Alex, who said so during an off-the-record chat.

Ferguson finally replaced Paul Scholes with Ashley Young, who was the lone forward addition to the squad during the summer transfer window. The controversy surrounding his comeback, which occurred midway through a season in which United had become reliant on Cleverley, stemmed from his attempt, during an injury layoff, to curate the brand 'TC23' while still having only seven United appearances to his credit.

Despite the fact that a teenage Paul Pogba was available, Ferguson's midfield blind spot remained unaddressed, with Scholes's re-emergence serving as the final straw for him. Ferguson was lucky in that Michael Carrick had rediscovered his form in the autumn, and Carrick was one of Manchester United's players of the year in the Scot's final season, as evidenced by his inclusion in the Premier League team of the year in the following season.

In Ferguson's last championship, motivation rather than creativity was the driving force, and this was evident in his frenzied final European match versus Real Madrid. While Ferguson served as a cheerleader following Nani's dismissal, Mourinho introduced Modric, who netted an equalizer. Real Madrid won the match 2-1.

In 2013, Modric celebrated his goal against Man Utd at Old Trafford.

Having rejected down the chance to compete with Real Madrid for Benzema in 2009, Ferguson looked to Michael Owen as a replacement. United might have pushed for a Benzema exclusion clause in the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid a month earlier if they were serious market players.

Lyon midfielder Karim Benzema was given a Manchester United shirt by Sir Alex Ferguson in the tunnel at the Stade Gerland after scoring in their Champions League tie with United in 2008. Benzema, who was cognizant of the cameras, looked embarrassed. The 20-year-old was Ferguson's favorite striker option, but Benzema was unavailable, so United opted for Berbatov instead.

At a period when the emphasis was on long-term goals, Owen and Van Persie were seen as short-term solutions. In the case of the brittle Owen, he required repair. As a result, the team that Moyes inherited had performed well above its expected level, and it was unlikely that it would do so again under his guidance in 2013.

In every instance where the current United team is subjected to another inquest, the broadcasters focus their cameras on Ferguson, who sits in his leather-covered chair and appears to be deserving of our sympathy. Ferguson chose Moyes to be his successor, welcomed the Glazers into the club, and has refused to publicly acknowledge the family's ownership.

Benzema, now in his 13th season at Real Madrid, and the magisterial Modric are preparing for another Champions League semi-final, and United, once known as a club synonymous with longevity, can only watch from their armchairs in envy. United's last championship was in 2011.