Manchester United’s transfer wishlist was dramatically leaked in 2004 – and the club ended up signing most of the players featured on it. At the time, the Red Devils were entering perhaps the most challenging period of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Premier League career.

They had just lost the title to Arsenal’s Invincibles and were set to spend the next two seasons chasing Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea without success. Still, Ferguson’s careful squad-building eventually paid off – even if parts of it were accidentally exposed to the public. The leak appeared as a fascinating photograph of a document titled Player Analysis. It organised the United squad into four categories: squad, excess, youth potential and transfer targets.

Established names like Nicky Butt and Diego Forlan were listed in the excess column, indicating they were likely to be sold. Academy talents such as Kieran Richardson, Tom Heaton and Phil Bardsley appeared under youth potential, showing that they were earmarked for future first-team roles.

The most captivating section, however, was the transfer targets column, featuring then-Barcelona academy prospect Gerard Pique, PSG defender Gabriel Heinze and Leeds striker Alan Smith – all of whom would join United that summer. Two others, though, slipped through the net.

One was Vincent Kompany, then a teenage star at Anderlecht who would later captain Manchester City. The other was Auxerre defender Philippe Mexes, who eventually played for Roma and AC Milan.

The document provided a intruiging insight into Ferguson-era United’s recruitment approach and the effectiveness of their scouting network. Pique, Heinze, Kompany and Mexes were largely unknown in 2004, yet all went on to have successful careers at top clubs.

Pique’s career at Old Trafford, however, never truly took off. The young Spaniard found it hard to break into a defence led by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, ultimately returning to Barcelona. There, he became one of the greatest central defenders of his generation, winning nine La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies and seven Copa del Reys.

Heinze had a steady three-year stint at United, but a long-term injury in 2006 led to the signing of Patrice Evra, who soon replaced him as first-choice left-back. Heinze left in 2007 for Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Smith began well at Old Trafford but suffered ongoing injuries, eventually moving to Newcastle in 2007.

Perhaps the summer’s biggest signing, though absent from the leaked wishlist, was Wayne Rooney. United acquired the striker from Everton for £27million – a record fee for a teenager at the time.

Rooney would later become United’s all-time top scorer with 253 goals and captain the side, solidifying his status as a Red Devils legend.

All five players on the excess list were sold that summer. Butt went to Newcastle, Forlan to Villarreal and Luke Chadwick to West Ham. Ricardo was released on a free transfer, while Michael Stewart was loaned to Hearts before leaving permanently the next year.

Looking back, United mostly made the right decisions. That said, letting Forlan leave may have been a mistake. The Uruguayan struggled in his two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford, famously failing to score in his debut season. Yet once he moved on, he finally fulfilled the potential United had seen when they signed him from Independiente.

After scoring just 17 times in 98 games for United, Forlan hit 25 goals in his first season at Villarreal. Following three successful campaigns there, he joined Atletico Madrid, netting 96 goals in 198 appearances.

United did not suffer from his departure, with Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov all scoring consistently, but Forlan’s later success remains one of the few rare misjudgements in an otherwise impressive transfer record that had few significant blemishes.