Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, Manchester United have struggled to replicate the success that they had under the record-breaking manager, failing to win the Premier League in that time.
Manchester United’s 5 Worst Buys since Sir Alex Ferguson
A major factor in the Red Devils’ struggles has been their recruitment failures and here we run through the five worst signings of the post-Fergie era.
Manchester United Transfer Flops: Antony
The Erik Ten Hag era at Manchester United is unlikely to be looked back on fondly and under the Dutchman the club’s recruitment went from bad to worse. The culmination of that was the signing of Ajax winger Antony for a reported fee of £85 million.
After four league goals in his debut season, the winger has gradually been eased out of the side and has played just 28 minutes of top-flight action this term. It seems unlikely that the Brazilian will fit into Ruben Amorim’s plans and when the Red Devils move on it is likely to be at a massive financial loss.
Manchester United Transfer Flops: Alexis Sanchez
It must be remembered how successful Alexis Sanchez was at Arsenal when reflecting on his spell at United. He had registered 10 assists and 24 goals in his last full season with the Gunners before his move to Manchester in January 2018.
The Chilean netted just three times for his new side in a season-and-a-half before moving to Inter, where he has helped his team to a couple of Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia. Sanchez and his signing announcement are one of the best examples of United’s big-money acquisitions failing to live up to expectations in the post-Fergie era.
Manchester United Transfer Flops: Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba seemed like the one that got away for United when he was producing dominant performances at Juventus, after all he had come through the Red Devils’ academy. The club could not resist the chance to reunite and broke the world record transfer fee at the time to re-sign the Frenchman, but he had a disappointing second spell at the club.
Pogba put in some exceptional performances but struggled for consistency and only won the Europa League and League Cup in six years at the club before departing in 2022.
Manchester United Transfer Flops: Jadon Sancho
Another promising wideman that failed to live up to expectations at United, Jadon Sancho recorded just 12 goals and six assists from his first 82 games for the club before leaving for Chelsea on loan this summer.
While he may be able to turn his career around, he is yet to come close to recouping the reported £72m that the team splashed out on him.
Manchester United Transfer Flops: Donny van de Beek
Ajax’s team that reached the semi-finals of the 2019 Champions League were vaunted throughout Europe, with many of their stars getting moves to bigger clubs.
Most of them failed to live up to expectations however and Donny van de Beek is certainly one of those. United spent a reported £40m on the midfielder, who made just 11 league starts for the Red Devils in four years. He departed in the summer to Girona for a fee of less than £1m.
By James Mason
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