After playing two seasons for Spartak Moscow, Vidić signed for Manchester United for a fee of around £7 million on 25 December 2005 and joined the club on 5 January 2006 after his work permit was granted. This was two-and-a-half years after Manchester United's reported interest in him began. On this occasion, United beat out stiff competition for Vidić's signature, as his transfer to Fiorentina in Italy had already been agreed with the club's Sporting Director, Pantaleo Corvino. Since Fiorentina had to wait in order to complete the signing due to not having any free non-EU spots on its roster at the time, United stepped in and hijacked the transfer. He was assigned the number 15 shirt and on 25 January 2006, he made his debut for United as a substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the dying minutes of a 2–1 win in the League Cup semi-final second leg against Blackburn Rovers. On 16 February 2006, Vidić won his first trophy with United, coming on in the 83rd minute for Wes Brown in the 2006 League Cup final win against Wigan Athletic. Vidić received a medal for his appearance in the final, but later gave it to team-mate Giuseppe Rossi in recognition of Rossi's contributions in the earlier rounds of the competition.