MANCHESTER UNITED are climbing back up the Premier League thanks to a mix of solid signings and homegrown talent.
Scott McTominay has been a near-ever-present under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while Bruno Fernandes has proved worth every penny of the £50million spent.
And while United have a history of making some incredible signings, they also have a knack for spending big on flops.
From Alexis Sanchez and Angel Di Maria to Juan Sebastian Veron and Fred, check out our best XI of United mega-money failures.
GOALKEEPER – Anders Lindegaard
Cost: £5million
From: Aalesund (2010)
WHILE not exactly expensive in modern money, £5m on a goalkeeper who featured just 19 times in five years is hardly a bargain.
Since quitting United, Lindegaard has turned out for West Brom and Preston, before joining Premier League side Burnley in 2017 where he was released in 2019 having failed just twice – both in the Carabao Cup.
He’s now at Helsingborg.
DEFENDER – Matteo Darmian
Cost: £12.9m
From: Torino (2015)
DARMIAN has played 60 times in the Premier League in four years at United, but never made the right-back slot his own.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s arrival saw his surplus to requirements, and he joined Parma on a four-year deal in 2019.
Most recently, he became a Serie A winner with Inter Milan on loan.
DEFENDER – Daley Blind
Cost: £14m
From: Ajax (2014)
ALWAYS a tough one to judge, Blind both proved he was a good footballer and failed to shine while at Man Utd.
After four years at the club, Blind opted to head back to Ajax where he has gone on to become a key player once more – and helped his side reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
DEFENDER – Marcos Rojo
Cost: £16m
From: Sporting (2014)
Rojo was plagued by injuries and lack of form in his five years at the club.
Back in February, the Argentinian finally ended his Old Trafford nightmare by signing for Boca Juniors.
CM – Morgan Schneiderlin
Cost: £24m
From: Southampton (2015)
AFTER seven years at Saints, Schneiderlin was supposed to be United’s midfield maestro for years to come.
But after just two years, the France star was shipped off to Everton with 32 very underwhelming appearances under his belt.
He’s now at Nice after his three-year stint on Merseyside.
CM – Juan Sebastian Veron
Cost: £28m
From: Lazio (2001)
ARGUABLY one of the best midfielders of his generation, the only positive about Veron’s time at United was that at least it was better than his time at Chelsea.
Both transfers frequently pop up in ‘worst Premier League transfers of all-time’ lists – and with good reason.
The ex-Lazio man could have helped United be as unstoppable in Europe as they were domestically, but alas, it wasn’t to be.
CM – Fred
Cost: £52m
From: Shakhtar Donetsk (2018)
A HUGE-MONEY signing in 2018, Fred has been thoroughly underwhelming for United.
The Brazilian is starting to find his feet as part of a deep-lying tandem including McTominay. But for £52m you want more.
CAM – Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Cost: £30m
From: Borussia Dortmund (2016)
SOUGHT-AFTER by a host of Europe’s giants during his days in Ukraine and Germany, Man Utd won the race for Mkhitaryan’s signature.
But after 39 disappointing Premier League appearances he was part of the ill-fated swap deal with Arsenal for Sanchez.
He’s now performing admirably at Serie A side Roma.
FW – Angel Di Maria
Cost: £59.7m
From: Real Madrid (2014)
SUPERB at Real, brilliant at Paris Saint-German… bang average at United.
Yes, we all remember that goal against Leicester, but what else did Di Maria do at Old Trafford? Very, very little.
His single season at United was worth nowhere near the £59.7m spent, before he went on to thrive in Ligue 1.
FW – Romelu Lukaku
Cost: £75m
From: Everton (2017)
BOTH Chelsea and United were chasing Lukaku and Alvaro Morata in the summer of 2017.
Maybe things would have been different for the two flop strikers had they switched destinations.
But Lukaku – save for a few brief matches where he showed his unstoppable potential – was dreadful at United… at least, by the standard we now hold him to.
Shipped off to Inter last summer, Lukaku is now one of Europe’s most-feared strikers thanks to his knack for scoring goals.
FW – Alexis Sanchez
Cost: £505,000-a-week
From: Arsenal (2018)
A FREE signing. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, throwing £505,000-a-week down the drain and struggling to sell him due to his wages, that’s what.
Former Barcelona and Arsenal star Sanchez scored three – just THREE – goals during his 18 months at Old Trafford… that’s roughly £40m in wages.
HONOURABLE MENTION
- Anderson – £20m (Porto, 2007)
- Memphis Depay – £25m (PSV, 2015)
