He may be better known to some for his appearances on reality television in recent years, but Lee Sharpe once battled it out with Ryan Giggs and John Barnes for the left wing berth at Manchester United and England respectively.
In fact, Sharpe was one of the first youngsters to break into the United first team under Sir Alex Ferguson's management.
Having played only 16 games for Torquay United, an 18-year-old Sharpe arrived at Old Trafford in 1988. He'd make his debut for the first team later that year and, following the departure of Jesper Olsen, Sharpe would become a regular starter as United won the European Cup Winners' Cup and Premier League title in the early 1990s.
However, his reported off-field antics were not looked upon favourably by Ferguson, who believed that Sharpe was leading a young Giggs astray. Both have previously recounted an incident when Ferguson arrived unannounced at Sharpe's house to break up a party, where he then proceeded to launch a verbal tirade in the direction of his two players.
As the seasons went by, injuries also started to take hold, although they did not prevent Sharpe from making 31 appearances as United won the Premier League again in 1996, as well as the FA Cup.
Despite that success, Ferguson decided that the time was right to part with the England international. He was linked with a host of clubs, but it was Leeds United that won the race for his signature 18 years ago today.
Speaking about the rivalry between the two clubs, Sharpe once told The Telegraph: "When I left Old Trafford for Leeds in 1996, I was never really worried about the animosity between the supporters because I'm a pretty laid-back guy and I knew I could win people over on the pitch. And I enjoyed Leeds so much that I still live in the city now.
"But whenever I am in a pub and Manchester United appear on the television, even my mates will look at me and call me 'scum' — I think they are doing it out of humour! Even after 15 years in Leeds, nobody has ever been able to explain the rivalry to me."
The Yorkshire-based outfit paid out £4.5m, which made Sharpe their record signing. The switch failed to work out, though, as a serious knee injury limited him to 30 appearances for the Whites. He spent time on loan with Italian side Sampdoria and then Bradford City, whom he joined on a permanent basis in 1999.
That was followed by stints with Portsmouth, Exeter City and Icelandic outfit Grindavik, before he embarked on a television career that saw Sharpe appear on shows such as Celebrity Love Island, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Wrestling.
Liam Apicella
