Sir Alex Ferguson's final game as Manchester United manager was an eventful one, not least for cult hero Alexander Buttner.
Dutch defender Buttner was one of Ferguson's final signings, moving to Old Trafford just four days after compatriot Robin van Persie. He scored on his Premier League debut in a 4-0 victory over Wigan, but his second and final goal for United didn't arrive until Ferguson's farewell match.
After announcing his plans to retire, Ferguson wasn't able to bow out with a win, but he did walk away as a Premier League champion. Buttner ended the season with a medal himself, having made five league appearances, and couldn't resist taking a potshot at Steven Gerrard over the fact years later.
Buttner scored United's third goal at the Hawthorns as the champions looked to be cruising to victory on the final day of the 2012-13 season. However, the game changed when Romelu Lukaku came off the bench for the hosts.
The Belgian, then on loan from Chelsea, scored a second-half hat-trick as Albion came back from 3-0 and 5-2 down to snatch a draw. United had already comfortably won the league by then, though, eventually finishing 11 points clear of the previous season's champions Manchester City.
Buttner remained at Old Trafford for a second season after Ferguson stepped away, and started under David Moyes in the Champions League quarter-finals. However, he then moved on to Dynamo Moscow before later finding his way back to first club Vitesse, but didn't forget his success in England upon returning to The Netherlands.
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"I was on the pitch for United 30 times. Who can say that he has been a champion in England? I can. Even Steven Gerrard did not succeed,' Buttner told De Telegraaf in 2017
"I've become a much better football player, I played in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Bayern Munich and Arjen Robben."
During his second spell with Vitesse, Buttner played with a young Mason Mount as the Chelsea talent made his professional debut on loan at the Dutch side. He also spent a season in the same team as Martin Odegaard, who was still a teenager when he joined the Eredivisie side on loan from Real Madrid.
Since leaving Old Trafford, though, his career has been a nomadic one. In addition to the spells in Russia and the Netherlands, he has played top-flight football in Belgium and the United States, where he was a team-mate of current Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner in New England.
Now 34, Buttner is back in his homeland once more with De Graafschap. "“Alexander is a player after my heart with a lot of attacking impulses," technical director Peter Bijvelds said upon confirming the signing. "Physically he is in excellent shape, but it was also very important to me how he was mentally. However, it soon became clear to me that Alexander really wanted to come to us.”
He has four goals and nine assists this season, but it hasn't been enough for his team to reach the play-off spots in the second tier. As for his former club? Well, they're still looking for their first Premier League title since his departure.
