http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1940507-the-10-transfers-that-defined-sir-alex-fergusons-manchester-united-tenure/page/2

Article by Paul Ansorge

10. Robin van Persie

Robin van Persie is the defining reason that Fergie’s retirement took place in a haze of flag waving and triumph. The open-top bus paradeshowed just how much hunger there was in the red half of Manchester to overturn the painful loss of the title to Manchester City.It is hard to imagine that would have been the case were it not for the signing of van Persie. So often last season, as United wobbled, van Persie came to the rescue.

Van Persie was taken to heart almost immediately. Announcing that"the little boy inside him" was screaming for United, appearing to choose history, glamour and the chance to work with Sir Alex over offers from Juventus and the interest of Manchester City, van Persie felt like a Red almost instantly.

Repeatedly singing the praises of his United teammates, “unbelievable” became his watchword as he marvelled at the talent around him.

It is unfortunate for him that he only had one season with Sir Alex. In his autobiography, Ferguson apologises to RVP, but claims that he did not lie to the Dutchman and that he genuinely had no plans to retire when he assured van Persie of his plans to remain at the club.

But in ensuring Ferguson’s time at United ended with celebration, the signing of van Persie rates as one of Ferguson’s greatest.

9. Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand cost a phenomenal amount of money. He was purchased in the pre-Glazer spate of transfers which saw United’s transfer record broken three times in two years. It would not be broken again for a further six years.

It was a coin flip between Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic on this list—the two central defenders whose wonderful partnership formed the bedrock of Ferguson’s last great side. Ferdinand gets on the list, firstly, because I think he’s a very slightly better player than Vidic. Secondly, his transfer represents something deeper—a time when United were competing at the very top table in the world football transfer market.Ferdinand was excellent in the 2002 World Cup and had been a fine player for Leeds United and West Ham United before that, but it was at United that the sobriquet, shared by everyone on this list, of “world class” was truly earned.

Gifted and calm in possession and a wonderful reader of the game, Ferdinand is also underrated as a leader. He has spent a career making whoever he played alongside play better.Whilst his time at United may be coming to an end and whilst some fans may resent his relentless marketing of hats with a number on them, Ferdinand’s place in the pantheon of the greats has been earned on the pitch, and his achievements speak for themselves.

8. Denis Irwin

Sir Alex told SundayWorld.com (h/t ESPN.co.uk) that Denis Irwin would be the only player with a guaranteed place in his all-time United XI.

Equally comfortable on either flank, decent from attacking set pieces, and a magnificent defender, the understated Irishman was an incredibly dependable servant of the club.Winning seven Premier League titles, Irwin was also the only player in the starting line-up of the 1999 Champions League final who had played in the Cup Winners Cup Final in 1991.

One of the best value-for-money buys in the history of football, one of the most decorated players in history, he was easily one of Sir Alex’s defining signings.

Sir Alex related a story that sums up his feelings about Irwin:

"At Highbury in one game, he had a bad pass back in the last minute and [Dennis] Bergkamp came in and scored. After the game the press said: 'You must be disappointed in that pass back.' I said: 'Well, one mistake in 10 years isn't bad.' He was an unbelievable player."

7. Ruud van Nistelrooy

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud."

Ahem. Sorry. That’s a Pavlovian response to hearing the man’s name. Because as soon as I think of his name, I picture him scoring goals.He loved a goal, did Ruud van Nistelrooy. With 150 goals in 219 appearances, it is still not entirely clear whether van Nistelrooy needs standard food, air and water to survive or if goals did the job.

His time at United coincided with a relative lack of success. Robin van Persie is the only other man on this list with only one Premier League title, but he only had one crack at it.

Van Nistelrooy was the best player in a team in transition. The irony that his departure was coincided with the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo, the player who would help lift United to greatness again, is that Ruud never got to be part of a really great team.

Which is a shame because he was a really great player.

The best signing Sir Alex made was this guy Howard Webb !!! END OF DISCUSSION !!

Vidic> Van Persie any day...

Then again I dont know what does it takes for a player to be on this list. If you buy a player for a lot of money an he wins 1 tittle then he deserves to be there? or is it more valuable as a transfer that Sir Alex bought a player for a very low amount of money and then he became a world class player?

Again. We're talking about prices of the player...

De Gea was also a great signing in replacement to Van Der Sar.