# 2003–04 Manchester United F.C. season

The 2003–04 season was Manchester United's 12th season in the Premier League, and their 29th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
United started the season by winning the 2003 FA Community Shield and then secured a record eleventh FA Cup with a 3–0 win over Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. However, the club surrendered the Premier League title to unbeaten champions Arsenal, with a second-half dip in league form coinciding with Rio Ferdinand starting an eight-month ban from football due to a missed drugs test and restricting United to a third-place finish.
New to the United side were Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder Kléberson, American goalkeeper Tim Howard, Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba and French striker David Bellion.
United's UEFA Champions League and League Cup dreams ended in the last 16, with the European exit being particularly painful as a last minute goal by eventual champions Porto put them out of the competition and denied them an eighth successive Champions League quarter-final.

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 22 July 2003 | Celtic | N | 4–0 | Van Nistelrooy 7', Giggs 27', Solskjær 39', Bellion 72' | 66,722 |
| 27 July 2003 | Club América | N | 3–1 | Van Nistelrooy 48', Forlán (2) 49', 80' | 57,365 |
| 31 July 2003 | Juventus | N | 4–1 | Giggs 25', Scholes 57', Van Nistelrooy 60', Solskjær 79' | 79,000 |
| 3 August 2003 | Barcelona | N | 3–1 | Forlán (2) 25', 37', Van Nistelrooy 85' | 68,396 |
| 7 August 2003 | Sporting CP | A | 1–3 | Hugo 88' (o.g.) | 55,000 |
| 13 August 2003 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | Forlán 68' | 21,436 |

## FA Community Shield

| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 10 August 2003 | Arsenal | N | 1–1 (4–3p) | Silvestre 15' | 59,293 |

## FA Premier League

| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 16 August 2003 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 4–0 | Giggs (2) 35', 74', Scholes 77', Van Nistelrooy 87' | 67,647 | 2nd |
| 23 August 2003 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | Van Nistelrooy 51', Scholes 59' | 52,165 | 3rd |
| 27 August 2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | O'Shea 10' | 67,648 | 2nd |
| 31 August 2003 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | | 32,066 | 2nd |
| 13 September 2003 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 62', 82' | 26,078 | 2nd |
| 21 September 2003 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | | 67,639 | 3rd |
| 27 September 2003 | Leicester City | A | 4–1 | Keane 15', Van Nistelrooy (3) 16', 45', 52' | 32,044 | 3rd |
| 4 October 2003 | Birmingham City | H | 3–0 | Van Nistelrooy 36' (pen.), Scholes 57', Giggs 82' | 67,633 | 2nd |
| 18 October 2003 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | Keane 81' | 40,153 | 2nd |
| 25 October 2003 | Fulham | H | 1–3 | Forlán 45' | 67,727 | 3rd |
| 1 November 2003 | Portsmouth | H | 3–0 | Forlán 37', Ronaldo 80', Keane 82' | 67,639 | 3rd |
| 9 November 2003 | Liverpool | A | 2–1 | Giggs (2) 58', 70' | 44,159 | 3rd |
| 22 November 2003 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | Van Nistelrooy 24', Kléberson 38' | 67,748 | 3rd |
| 30 November 2003 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | | 41,932 | 3rd |
| 6 December 2003 | Aston Villa | H | 4–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 16', 45', Forlán (2) 90', 90' | 67,621 | 3rd |
| 13 December 2003 | Manchester City | H | 3–1 | Scholes (2) 7', 73', Van Nistelrooy 34' | 67,645 | 2nd |
| 21 December 2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–1 | O'Shea 15', Van Nistelrooy 26' | 35,910 | 1st |
| 26 December 2003 | Everton | H | 3–2 | Butt 9', Kléberson 44', Bellion 68' | 67,642 | 1st |
| 28 December 2003 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | Fortune 14' | 34,738 | 1st |
| 7 January 2004 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | Scholes 24', Van Nistelrooy 39' | 27,668 | 1st |
| 11 January 2004 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | | 67,622 | 1st |
| 17 January 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | | 29,396 | 2nd |
| 31 January 2004 | Southampton | H | 3–2 | Saha 18', Scholes 37', Van Nistelrooy 61' | 67,758 | 2nd |
| 7 February 2004 | Everton | A | 4–3 | Saha (2) 9', 29', Van Nistelrooy (2) 24', 89' | 40,190 | 2nd |
| 11 February 2004 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–3 | Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 63' | 67,346 | 2nd |
| 21 February 2004 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | Scholes 64' | 67,744 | 2nd |
| 28 February 2004 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | Saha 14' | 18,306 | 3rd |
| 14 March 2004 | Manchester City | A | 1–4 | Scholes 35' | 47,284 | 3rd |
| 20 March 2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–0 | Giggs 30', Ronaldo 89', Bellion 90' | 67,634 | 3rd |
| 28 March 2004 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | Saha 86' | 38,184 | 3rd |
| 10 April 2004 | Birmingham City | A | 2–1 | Ronaldo 60', Saha 78' | 29,548 | 3rd |
| 13 April 2004 | Leicester City | H | 1–0 | G. Neville 56' | 67,749 | 3rd |
| 17 April 2004 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | | 20,140 | 3rd |
| 20 April 2004 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | Saha 28', G. Neville 65' | 67,477 | 3rd |
| 24 April 2004 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | | 67,647 | 3rd |
| 1 May 2004 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–1 | | 29,616 | 3rd |
| 8 May 2004 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | Van Nistelrooy 76' | 67,609 | 3rd |
| 15 May 2004 | Aston Villa | A | 2–0 | Ronaldo 4', Van Nistelrooy 10' | 42,573 | 3rd |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 38 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Chelsea | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 79 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 75 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 60 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 38 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 56 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as 2003–04 FA Cup winners went to First Division club Millwall, who were the FA Cup runners-up.

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 January 2004 | Round 3 | Aston Villa | A | 2–1 | Scholes (2) 64', 68' | 40,371 |
| 25 January 2004 | Round 4 | Northampton Town | A | 3–0 | Silvestre 34', Hargreaves 47' (o.g.), Forlán 68' | 7,356 |
| 14 February 2004 | Round 5 | Manchester City | H | 4–2 | Scholes 34', Van Nistelrooy (2) 71', 80', Ronaldo 74' | 67,228 |
| 6 March 2004 | Round 6 | Fulham | H | 2–1 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 25', 62' | 67,614 |
| 3 April 2004 | Semi-final | Arsenal | N | 1–0 | Scholes 32' | 39,939 |
| 22 May 2004 | Final | Millwall | N | 3–0 | Ronaldo 44', Van Nistelrooy (2) 65' (pen.), 81' | 71,350 |

## League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 28 October 2003 | Round 3 | Leeds United | A | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Bellion 78', Forlán 108', Djemba-Djemba 117' | 37,546 |
| 3 December 2003 | Round 4 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–2 | | 25,282 |

## UEFA Champions League
### Group stage

| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 16 September 2003 | Panathinaikos | H | 5–0 | Silvestre 13', Fortune 15', Solskjær 33', Butt 40', Djemba-Djemba 83' | 66,520 | 1st |
| 1 October 2003 | VfB Stuttgart | A | 1–2 | Van Nistelrooy 67' (pen.) | 50,348 | 2nd |
| 22 October 2003 | Rangers | A | 1–0 | P. Neville 5' | 48,730 | 1st |
| 4 November 2003 | Rangers | H | 3–0 | Forlán 6', Van Nistelrooy (2) 43', 60' | 66,707 | 1st |
| 26 November 2003 | Panathinaikos | A | 1–0 | Forlán 85' | 6,890 | 1st |
| 9 December 2003 | VfB Stuttgart | H | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy 45', Giggs 58' | 67,141 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | +11 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Panathinaikos | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 4 | Transfer to UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Rangers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | |

### Knockout phase

| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 25 February 2004 | First knockout round First leg | Porto | A | 1–2 | Fortune 14' | 49,977 |
| 9 March 2004 | First knockout round Second leg | Porto | H | 1–1 | Scholes 32' | 67,029 |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Fabien Barthez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Gary Neville | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 3 | DF | Phil Neville | 29(2) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40(3) | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Rio Ferdinand | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Wes Brown | 15(2) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22(3) | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Cristiano Ronaldo | 15(14) | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24(16) | 6 |
| 8 | MF | Nicky Butt | 12(9) | 1 | 3(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22(12) | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Louis Saha | 9(3) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10(4) | 7 |
| 10 | FW | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 31(1) | 20 | 3(1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 42(2) | 30 |
| 11 | MF | Ryan Giggs | 29(4) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43(4) | 8 |
| 12 | FW | David Bellion | 4(10) | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(15) | 3 |
| 13 | GK | Roy Carroll | 6 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 0 |
| 14 | GK | Tim Howard | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Kléberson | 10(2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13(3) | 2 |
| 16 | MF | Roy Keane (c) | 25(3) | 3 | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34(4) | 3 |
| 17 | GK | Ricardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Paul Scholes | 24(4) | 9 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36(4) | 14 |
| 19 | MF | Eric Djemba-Djemba | 10(5) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1(3) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 12(10) | 2 |
| 20 | FW | Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 7(6) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10(9) | 1 |
| 21 | FW | Diego Forlán | 10(14) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2(2) | 2 | 0(1) | 0 | 15(17) | 8 |
| 22 | DF | John O'Shea | 32(1) | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 46(3) | 2 |
| 23 | MF | Kieran Richardson | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Darren Fletcher | 17(5) | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26(9) | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Quinton Fortune | 18(5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6(1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29(6) | 3 |
| 26 | MF | Danny Pugh | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Mikaël Silvestre | 33(1) | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 45(1) | 3 |
| 32 | FW | Eddie Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Chris Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Phil Bardsley | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| 36 | FW | Daniel Nardiello | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 39 | DF | Paul Tierney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

## Transfers

United's first departure of the 2003–04 season was David Beckham, who left Old Trafford after ten years with the Red Devils. On 7 July, forward Danny Webber joined Watford. A month after Webber's departure, Argentinian midfielder, Juan Sebastián Verón joined United's rivals Chelsea. Two days later, English forward Jimmy Davis died in a car crash.
Coming in during the summer transfer window were French forward David Bellion, Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, American goalkeeper Tim Howard, Brazilian midfielder Kléberson, and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
Leaving in the winter transfer window was Alan Tate, who joined Swansea City. First-choice goalkeeper Fabien Barthez rejoined Marseille in April, while Danny Pugh joined Leeds United in late May, in exchange for Alan Smith.
Arriving in the winter transfer window was Louis Saha, who signed from Fulham on 23 January for a fee of £12.82 million. Alan Smith joined United on 26 May from Leeds United in exchange for Danny Pugh (see above). Gabriel Heinze joined United on 11 June from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £6.9 million.

### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2003 | FW | David Bellion | Sunderland | £2m |
| 3 July 2003 | MF | Eric Djemba-Djemba | Nantes | £3.5m |
| 15 July 2003 | GK | Tim Howard | MetroStars | £2.3m |
| 12 August 2003 | MF | Kléberson | Atlético Paranaense | £5.93m |
| 12 August 2003 | MF | Cristiano Ronaldo | Sporting CP | £12.24m |
| 12 January 2004 | FW | Dong Fangzhuo | Dalian Shide | £3.5m |
| 23 January 2004 | FW | Louis Saha | Fulham | £12.82m |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 2 July 2003 | MF | David Beckham | Real Madrid | £17.25m |
| 7 July 2003 | FW | Danny Webber | Watford | Undisclosed |
| 7 August 2003 | MF | Juan Sebastián Verón | Chelsea | £15m |
| 9 August 2003 | FW | Jimmy Davis | Deceased | Deceased |
| 6 February 2004 | DF | Alan Tate | Swansea City | Undisclosed |
| 27 April 2004 | GK | Fabien Barthez | Marseille | £5m |
| 26 May 2004 | MF | Danny Pugh | Leeds United | Free |

### Loan out

| Date from | Date to | Position | Name | To |
| 8 July 2003 | 9 August 2003 | FW | Jimmy Davis | Watford |
| 10 July 2003 | 30 June 2004 | MF | Luke Chadwick | Burnley |
| 19 July 2003 | 30 June 2004 | MF | Bojan Djordjic | Red Star Belgrade |
| 27 July 2003 | 1 January 2004 | FW | Colin Heath | Royal Antwerp |
| 27 July 2003 | 1 January 2004 | MF | David Fox | Royal Antwerp |
| 29 July 2003 | 30 June 2004 | MF | Michael Stewart | Nottingham Forest |
| 24 August 2003 | 30 June 2004 | GK | Ricardo | Racing Santander |
| 12 September 2003 | 12 October 2003 | FW | Neil Wood | Peterborough United |
| 19 September 2003 | 18 October 2003 | GK | Ben Williams | Altrincham |
| 24 October 2003 | 24 November 2003 | FW | Daniel Nardiello | Swansea City |
| 24 October 2003 | 29 December 2003 | DF | Alan Tate | Swansea City |
| 24 November 2003 | 25 December 2003 | FW | Danny Byrne | Hartlepool United |
| 2 January 2004 | 26 April 2004 | GK | Fabien Barthez | Marseille |
| 12 January 2004 | 16 December 2006 | FW | Dong Fangzhuo | Royal Antwerp |
| 27 January 2004 | 30 June 2004 | FW | Daniel Nardiello | Barnsley |
| 29 January 2004 | 30 April 2004 | FW | Neil Wood | Burnley |
| 29 January 2004 | 29 February 2004 | DF | Paul Tierney | Colchester United |
| 30 January 2004 | 23 May 2004 | DF | Phil Bardsley | Royal Antwerp |
| 30 January 2004 | 23 May 2004 | FW | Eddie Johnson | Royal Antwerp |
| 19 March 2004 | 9 May 2004 | GK | Ben Williams | Crewe Alexandra |
| 23 March 2004 | 30 June 2004 | DF | Lee Lawrence | Shrewsbury Town |
| 24 March 2004 | 30 June 2004 | FW | Mads Timm | Viking |