Marouane Fellaini deserves respect from Manchester United fans – he has been a loyal servant to the club

Manchester United have confirmed that Marouane Fellaini has completed his move to Shandong Luneng Taishan. Let’s give him the respect he deserves.

It’s finally happening. An end of an era.

Manchester United recently announced that Marouane Fellaini has left the club on a permanent transfer for a fee thought to be in the region of £10m.

The Belgium international has signed for Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng Taishan and will reportedly earn £235,000 a week.

Fellaini joined United from Everton back in 2014 for £27m under David Moyes, who had managed him previously at the Toffees.

He went on to make 177 appearances for the club under the management of Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The midfielder scored 22 goals during his five-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford – many of these being winners and otherwise crucial goals.

However, Fellaini has always had his detractors – many of them coming from the United fanbase themselves.

Indeed, fans have decried the 31-year-old for not being “United quality”, for not being elegant enough with his feet and even for simply having weird hair.

Such bizarre criticisms ignore the fact that Fellaini has been a tremendously effective player, whose physical assets have helped us win games, gain points and even win trophies.

Whether it be his involvement in the second goal which helped us beat Juventus 2-1 away this season, scoring the winner in the 2-1 win over Arsenal at home last season, or assisting Juan Mata’s winner in the 2016 FA Cup Final, Fellaini has proved time and time again that he is an incredibly useful asset to the team.

However, now that the new caretaker manager wants to implement a more attractive style of play, it is no surprise that Fellaini is the first player to make way for this new era at Manchester United.

Still, fans should be gracious in wishing Fellaini farewell at his new club and thanking him for his contribution at our club as well – because he has certainly earned it.