Marouane Fellaini leaving Manchester United has arguably been a long time coming.

It's been five-and-a-half years since the towering Belgian joined from Everton for £27m and he's never really endeared himself to United fans.

Fellaini's main strength is his height and it's proved effective on numerous occasions, but United have never been about long-ball football, so he's struggled to fit in somewhat.

Now 31 years old, Fellaini has joined Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng after signing a three-year contract worth a reported £200,000-per-week.

United received a tidy fee of £10.5m for the transfer which, it has to be said, is pretty good business from chief executive Ed Woodward.

"Manchester United can confirm that Marouane Fellaini has left the club on a permanent transfer," a club statement read on Friday.

"Everybody at United thanks Marouane for his services and wishes him well for the future as he completes his move to Shandong Luneng Taishan FC in China."

Fellaini has since returned the favour with a classy Instagram post.

"Huge thank you to everyone I have worked with during my time Manchester United," he wrote. "I have made some great friends and wish them and the club every success for the future."

United fans have all been wishing Fellaini good luck over the past 24 hours as he prepares to embark on a new adventure in China, where he will live a life of luxury.

One supporter has even created a video of some of Fellaini's biggest goals for United and it shows how often he made the difference for them.

Last-minute headers against Young Boys in the Champions League and Arsenal feature, not to mention a goal against his former employers, Everton, in the 2016 FA Cup semi-finals.

Fellaini may not have been a player United fans necessarily wanted, but he was a player they needed and who deserved more recognition.

One player who will certainly miss Fellaini is Ashley Young, whose crosses always seemed to find the Belgian international's head when United were in search of a goal.