Since Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United, the club has had terrible luck hiring new players.
In 2022, former United CEO Richard Arnold met fans in a beer garden and said, “What’s happened is, we have burned through cash.” He then used a curse.
United has spent more than £1 billion on moves in the last ten years, but they still haven’t won the Premier League title. Arnold was right.
The scattergun approach to transfers is a big part of why United is losing, and there have been many bad transfers.
Antony (£86m) Antony was bought from Ajax for £86 million in Erik ten Hag’s first summer as manager. The Dutchman really wanted to sign the player because he worked with him at the Amsterdam Arena, and United agreed to a deal even though Ajax’s value went up during the window.
The Brazilian still has time to turn around his career at the club, but for the price they paid to get him, he was a bad signing who needs to get better next season.
Antony only scored one goal and set up another during the 2023–24 Premier League season.
A swap deal for Alexis Sanchez Alexis Sanchez came to Manchester United from Arsenal in a straight swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He didn’t cost a fee to sign, but he made a lot of money while he was there.
The Chilean played 45 times and scored five goals and set up nine others. He wasn’t as good as he was at Arsenal, where he did very well in the Premier League.
Sanchez made the most money of any player in the Premier League. He may have made £560,000 a week. He first went on loan to Inter Milan in 2019 and then signed with them forever.
Hisham Mkhitaryan (£30m) Mkhitaryan was used as part of the trade for Sanchez, but he didn’t do well at United after being there. He played very well for Borussia Dortmund, so United paid £30 million to get him. But he had a hard time in the Premier League, and he wasn’t even in the starting lineup for long.
The international player for Armenia and Jose Mourinho broke up, and he was used as a makeweight in the deal to sign Sanchez.
Bebe (£7.4m) Before he signed Bebe for £7 million, Sir Alex Ferguson hadn’t seen him play, and when the player did play for United, he was a huge letdown.
He only played seven times for United before moving for Benfica in 2014. Bebe is now 33 years old. In January, when he played for Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations, he shocked United fans.
Donny van de Beek (£35 million) In 2019, Donny van de Beek was nominated for the Ballon d’Or because he played a big part in Ajax winning both of their home titles and making it to the semifinals of the Champions League.
A year later, when he joined United for £35 million, it was seen as a big deal. But his time at the club has been a disaster, and his latest loan with Eintracht Frankfurt didn’t work out either.
Van de Beek’s bad luck continued at Eintracht, where he wasn’t included in their European team soon after signing. He has a contract with United until 2025.
Memphis Depay (17m pounds) When United paid £31 million to get Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven in 2015, there was a lot of excitement. But in his two years at the club, he never lived up to his full promise.
Angel Di Maria left the team, and Depay took over the famous No.7 shirt that George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo had worn before. He had trouble with the weight of that shirt at Old Trafford, and in January 2017 he finally signed with Lyon.
Morgan Schneiderlin (£25 million) Morgan Schneiderlin came from Southampton in 2015 for around £25 million, but Louis van Gaal made certain that he “lost” his way as a player.
Last year, he said, “What Louis van Gaal asked of me scared me too much.” “I stopped being a player.” I wasn’t on the field. Not only did the boss do something wrong, I did too.
“I didn’t have the same job at Southampton.” It made me feel limited. They seemed to want to change something about me. There was no thought of myself; I only thought about what would make the teacher happy.
The player joined Everton in 2017. Before that, he played for Nice, Western Sydney Wanderers, Konyaspor, and A.E. Kifisia.
Paul Pogba (£89m) Before he re-signed for United in 2016 for a then-world-record £89 million, Pogba seemed to have everything going for him. During his time at Juventus, he became one of the best midfielders in Europe, and when he returned to Manchester, he made news around the world.
But Pogba left United for free in 2022, which was 10 years after the last time he left the club for no reason. In that time, United had only won the Europa League and the League Cup.
The Frenchman was very good, and United should have done better with him.
€6.8 million loan fee for Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao is the only loan player on this list, but United paid Monaco £6.8 million to sign him for the season, so he had to be there.
In September 2014, Van Gaal, who was manager of United at the time, said of Falcao, “When a player of this quality becomes available, it is an opportunity not to be missed.”
Falcao only scored four goals in 29 games, though, and Chelsea chose to give him a chance the next season, even though he had failed at United.
He wasn’t a good signing for United, and he only got one goal at Stamford Bridge.
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