The star of the Holland team and a Barcelona player, Memphis Depay is back in the big time

When Wayne Rooney recounted his favourite story about Memphis Depay's brief and unspectacular career at Manchester United, no-one was particularly surprised by it.

At fault for a goal in United's defeat at Stoke City on Boxing Day 2015 that left manager Louis van Gaal on the brink of quitting, Depay was hooked at half-time and told to report for a reserve-team game at Altrincham the next day.

'Look, it's a bit difficult,' Rooney told his teammate. 'Just don't come in with all your fancy stuff.

'He turned up for the reserve game in his Rolls Royce, wearing a leather jacket and a cowboy hat. I just thought, "what's the point?".' It's a story worth retelling as the 27-year-old prepares for Sunday's last 16 clash between Holland and Czech Republic in Budapest as a star of this Netherlands team ahead of a summer move to Barcelona.

Many others at Old Trafford had already reached the same conclusion as Rooney about the cocky Dutchman just six months after his arrival from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of £31million, and he was gone a year later.

In theory, the boy from Moordrecht should have been a good fit for his old Holland coach Van Gaal, but it didn't work out that way.

Depay felt he didn't have the freedom to express himself under the strict manager, and he wasn't alone in that regard.

There were question marks over his attitude in training and the relationship with the manager deteriorated. Depay's confidence suffered but he ignored Van Gaal's advice to see a sports psychologist.

People close to the player were worried that he was struggling without the support network he left behind in Holland, that had helped him overcome a troubled childhood to succeed at PSV, and concerned that he made a mistake by accepting the iconic No.7 shirt at United.

Typically, Depay wasn't fazed. He turned up at for training in a Mercedes G-Wagen with M7 embroidered in the headrests.

But the rest of the numbers didn't back up such confidence. Depay played 53 times for United, scoring just seven goals.

Van Gaal was replaced by Jose Mourinho and he only made one start under the new boss - lasting 55 minutes in the League Cup at Northampton - and four appearances as a substitute before leaving.

'I lost my joy and my football,' he said later.

Those who were ready to write him off didn't know the man.

In his book Heart of a Lion, it was described how Depay had come from a broken home and been physically abused by his mother's new husband and his children. He was expelled from school, began drinking when he was 12 and dealt in soft drugs before finding salvation in football and a burgeoning hip-hop career.

Depay felt he learned to survive in the urban jungle, which is one reason for the lion tattooed on his back. Another?

'I don't know if I had a hero growing up but I had a favourite movie, The Lion King,' he said recently.

'You know, Simba was obviously my favourite character in the movie and it's a beautiful story where he comes back and reclaims the throne again.' Depay has made quite a comeback too. He was so determined to get his next move right after United that he used a data company to find a club that would give him more freedom on the pitch and came up with the unlikely solution of Lyon.

The Dutchman got what he wanted in France: a more fluid, central role and the responsibility to be a team leader again. The proverbial big fish in a smaller pool.

He scored 22 goals in his first full season and made 13 assists, level with Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain. There were another 22 goals this season, making it 76 in 178 games for Lyon - the same record of one goal every 2.4 games he enjoyed at PSV and far better than his 7.5 average at United.

It included Depay scoring in six consecutive rounds of the Champions League this season to propel Lyon's surprise run to the semis.

However, he has never made any secret of his desire to sign for another top club, and despite being made captain there was also criticism of his coaches Bruno Genesio and Rudi Garcia.

No-one was surprised to hear the news that Depay will leave when his contract runs out next week, and a free transfer to Barcelona is a sign that he is back in the big-time.

His progress has been mirrored on the international stage. Depay has become a key figure for the Dutch playing in a more central attacking position, and has scored twice at Euro 2020 against Austria and North Macedonia as Frank de Boer's side breezed into the last 16 with three wins.

The Czechs are standing in their way on Sunday, but Depay will back himself to succeed. He always has done.