A midfield three of Pogba, Schweinsteiger, and Alsono looks great on paper, but...
With the news that broke earlier today, we're sure you heard about it, confirming that Mathias Pogba has joined Partick Thistle on a one year deal, we thought it might be a good time to take a look at some of the lesser loved siblings who couldn't quite hit the heights that their brothers did during their careeer.
Also influencing this list is the overwhelming outpouring of love from Manchester United players both past and present following Rafael's departure to Lyon, when poor old Fabio will surely note that nobody gave a shit when he joined Cardiff.
We've tried to form an XI, and here it is:
Goalkeeper:
Parfait Mandanda
Younger brother of Marseille captain and France international Steve Mandanda, Parfait (which means "Perfect" in French by the way) has made a total of 45 appearances in his 7 year footballing career, all of them for Charleroi in Belgium.
Defence:
Fabio Da Silva
While Fabio had an excellent start to his Manchester United career, even starting in the 2011 Champions League final at right back, he soon slipped into obscurity following an ill-fated loan to QPR before a permanent move to Cardiff City, who were then relegated to the Championship. The difference in reaction to each brother's departure justified his selection in this XI, as nobody really seemed to care, unlike Rafael.
Anton Ferdinand
His brother was a Champions League winner, a six time Premier League winner, a six time Premier League team of the season member, and even got into the FIFPro World XI in 07/07, whereas Anton bounced from West Ham, to Sunderland, to QPR where he was involved in a racism scandal with John Terry which will serve as the lasting memory of his career. After a trip to Turkey, he signed for Police United in Thailand but didn't play a game before he joined Reading again last year.
Paul Terry
A Terry-Ferdinand partnership at the back would be all kinds of awkward, but it's fitting in this team as Yeovil legend Paul Terry never quite made it as far as his former England captaining, Champions League winnering, multiple title winning brother John.
Bjorn Helge Riise
While he did make 15 appearances for Fulham, Bjorn Helge never could crack England the way John Arne Risse did, where he was highly regarded by Liverpool fans. A staple of the Norwegian league, Bjorn Hlege never took off outside of his homeland.
Midfield
Mathias Pogba
While his bro Paul is turning heads every week for Juventus and attracting the attention of Barcelona and Real Madrid since he left Manchester United, Mathias Pogba has just signed for Partick Thistle and his previous clubs include Wrexham, Crawley Town, and Crewe Alex.
Tobias Schweinsteiger
Tobias Schweinsteiger's dream was to play for Manchester United, the club he supported as a boy, so he is probably delighted to see his little brother Bastian live out yet another dream after captaining Bayern Munich to a Champions League trophy and captaining Germany to a World Cup win, while his own CV looks like this:
Mikel Alonso
Younger brother Xabi Alonso is a Liverpool legend who went on to play for Real Madrid before Pep Guardiola brought him to Bayern Munich, whereas Mikel played for Bolton and Charlton. Maybe he should have spent more time at Irish college in Meath.
Attack:
Tomi Ameobi
A striker for FC Edmonton in the North American Soccer League, poor old Tomi can't boast the Premier League experience that either his brothers Shola or Sammy can, and neither set the world alight in fairness. A classic middle child.
John Rooney
While his older brother Wayne became one of the most famous footballers on the planet, and captain of England and Manchester United, John played for Macclesfield Town before being selected by the New York Red Bulls in the 2011 MLS Draft. He played five times for the Red Bulls, then joined Orlando City before they joined the MLS. He now plays for Chester.
Simone Inzaghi
His bro Pippo is an AC Milan and Italy legend, but poor old Simeone only ever made 3 appearances for Italy and endured a career of loans:
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