Manchester United have spent close to £850m on transfers ever since Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement in 2013. Here are the best and worst signings in that time.
The worst signings
Memphis Depay
Manchester United signed Memphis Depay for £26.3m from PSV in the summer of 2015 and the Dutchman failed to live up to his potential in his 18 months at the club. He started off well scoring a brace in the Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge, but could never replicate his form in the Premier League. With just 7 goals in 33 appearances, he left for Lyon in January 2017.
Radamel Falcao
The Colombian international was one of the hottest names in European football when United signed him on a £6m loan fee from Monaco on deadline day in the 2014 transfer window. Scoring just four goals in 28 appearances, Falcao never got going at Manchester United. He was constantly out of favour with manager Louis Van Gaal and the injuries did not help the striker. Martin Keown described his performance against Derby in the FA Cup as “another night of nothing from Falcao”. He left for Chelsea after just one season with the club.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
It would have been great to have seen Schweinsteiger in his prime at Old Trafford. The legendary German midfielder signed for £7m from Bayern Munich in summer 2015. Schweinsteiger was brought in to add some leadership to the young dressing room and had a good start to life at United putting in a great performance vs Liverpool in his first month. However, the injuries started kicking in and Schweinsteiger was unavailable for most of the 2015/16 season. The following season he fell out with new manager Jose Mourinho and left after just 18 months at the club making 18 PL appearances.
Angel Di Maria
Summer 2014 was a big summer for Manchester United. They brought in a new manager and made 6 signings spending in excess of £200m. But no transfer excited the fans as much as Angel Di Maria, who at the time was the most expensive transfer in British football.
Signed for £60m from Real Madrid, the Argentine had a great start to life at Old Trafford winning the club’s player of the month award in his first full month and scoring 3 goals in his first 4 PL games. Ultimately, Louis Van Gaal could not figure how to balance his team in attack and defence, so he decided to bench Di Maria. The relationship soared from then on and as the season progressed it was clear Di Maria was second choice to English winger Ashley Young. He ended the PL season with 10 assists and then decided to change clubs. PSG signed him for £45m in summer 2015. There will always be a ‘what if’ question with Di Maria as every United saw how special he could be on his day.
Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez was one of the best players in the Premier League at Arsenal. He joined United in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way and was the highest paid player in the league at United.
Sanchez never hit the ground running at United. While working for Sky sports as a pundit, Jose Mourinho said Sanchez always looked like a ‘sad man’ at training. He scored 5 goals in 45 appearances in 18 months at the club before joining Inter Milan on loan, which was made permanent the year later. Several United fans have used this transfer to epitomize the club’s recruitment and decision-making post Sir Alex. Sanchez was a commercial dream, just like every other player on this list, who sold numerous shirts and played a piano when the club announced him as a new signing. It was clear from his first game he didn’t fit on the pitch.
The best signings
Juan Mata
Juan Mata was the first big name signing Manchester United made post Sir Alex, He signed for £37m in January 2014 and very soon became a fan favourite. He’s scored the late equalizer in the 2016 FA Cup final vs Crystal Palace and of course his famous brace at Anfield which included a terrific acrobatic goal. That performance alone would’ve been enough to stay in United fans hearts forever. He’s scored 50 goals for the club and is currently a squad player under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Marouane Fellaini
This is an interesting one.
If anyone were to look at Fellaini’s first season at United, they’d think he’s one of the club’s worst signing in recent history, but he did turn it around and became a vital player for managers Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. The Belgian scored in the 2016 FA Cup semi-final against his former club Everton and the 2017 Europa League semi-final against Spanish side Celta Vigo. United went on to win both competitions and Fellaini was instrumental in both campaigns. He signed for Chinese club Shandong Luneng January 2019.
Sergio Romero
Sergio Romero arrived to Manchester United in summer 2015 on a free transfer. Romero has been one of the most reliable backup goalkeepers in the world at United. He played a huge role in the club’s Europa League triumph in 2017. Usually a player with 96 caps for Argentina would feel entitled to start more often, but Romero has never complained about his role at the squad.
Ander Herrera
Having signed from Athletic Bilbao for £30m in summer 2014, a lot was questioned about Ander Herrera. Fans kept wondering if he was quick or strong enough to adapt to the PL. The Spaniard put all doubts to bed in his first season at United. He was an integral member of the squad during his time at the club. He assisted the winning goal against Southampton in the Carabao cup final in 2017 and was awarded man of the match for his performance vs Ajax in the same year’s Europa League final. Ander Herrera was the first outfield player to be voted player of the season by the fans post Ferguson. He had a great relationship with the fans because of his courage and raw passion. He left the club after five seasons in 2019 on a free transfer to PSG.
