Ex-Man Utd ace looks unrecognisable with beard while playing for Madrid legend

ONE of Sir Alex Ferguson’s former Manchester United goalkeepers looks completely unrecognisable these days.

This Spaniard was signed by Fergie back in 2002 but he only managed to make a handful of appearances.

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This star, who won two caps for his country, had caught the eye at Real Valladolid following a three-year stint at Atletico Madrid.

He then spent the same amount of time at Old Trafford, but most of that period was behind both Fabien Barthez and Roy Carroll in the pecking order.

The stopper was then shipped out to Racing Santander for the 2004/05 campaign prior to leaving United permanently that summer after making just one Premier League outing.

But he enjoyed more success with Osasuna, playing over 200 times for the club over the next seven seasons.

He retired in 2012, but a year later he pulled the gloves back on to help out the club again aged 41 to help them out in an injury crisis.

That led to just one more 15-minute cameo before he eventually called time on playing for good.

The man in question is, of course, goalie Ricardo.

Since quitting footy, he has worked as goalkeeping coach for a number of clubs, including in Arsenal’s Asian academy, before becoming boss at Segunda Division B outfit Racing de Ferrol.

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He then left to become Valladolid’s U19 head coach then in October 2021 he took over Spanish minnows SD Ejea, only to be sacked after one win in his first ten games.

But recently Ricardo returned between the sticks to play for Iker Casillas’ 1K FC in the Kings League, which is the seven-a-side competition founded by Gerard Pique.

And he looked completely different to his playing days with short black hair and dark stubble compared to his previous shaven look and long looks.

Ricardo spoke to Planet Sport previously to explain his shock at discovering United were after him over two decades ago.

He said: “It was a little bit of a surprise for everyone but very important for the club and for me because Real Valladolid got money for me and it was a very good opportunity for me to play in Manchester.

“He (Ferguson) didn’t tell me much directly, but he was very nice with me, he told me about Spanish football and how he watched me closely in my first training at United. I could see in his face, he was very happy with me.

“Obviously, he signed me because I got my caps with Spain. I would have liked to have had more opportunities, but this is football. At that time Fabian Barthez and Roy Carroll were in front of me and it was very difficult to get the No.1 spot.

“Maybe Sir Alex Ferguson tried me in the Champions League games to see what I could do.

“I would have liked to have played more in the cup or the league games, but that did not happen. I don’t know why, I will never know.”

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