Man Utd's 10 biggest transfer flops worth whopping £474million in disastrous decade since Sir Alex Ferguson's exit | The Sun
MANCHESTER UNITED have spent almost half a BILLION pounds on their ten worst flops since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.
The legendary manager left the club as Premier League winners in 2013, a status that has not been earned since his exit.
This has not been for lack of trying in the transfer market with Manchester United spending a reported £1.13billion on new players.
This makes the Old Trafford outfit the highest net spenders in Europe over the period with Chelsea's £890m and Manchester City's £940m net spends the closest.
However, United's two Premier League rivals have managed to continue having success over the period as both clubs have won Premier League and Champions League in that time.
The club has seen some success in the transfer market such as the acquisitions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Daley Blind and Ander Herrera.
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However, many of the club's biggest arrivals have failed to live up to their price tag and have ended up flopping.
There have been multiple reasons for these failures whether it was due to a change of manager, the player failing to settle or simply the club overpaying for their targets.
Although to be fair Ferguson was also capable of signing a flop during his time at the club.
Here is a list of the ten players that became the biggest flops since Ferguson left…
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10. Radamel Falcao
The Columbian forward joined Manchester United with high expectations in 2014 from Ligue 1 side Monaco.
Despite only arriving on loan Falcao still cost the club a petty penny as they paid a £6million loan fee.
During his time at Old Trafford, the forward only managed to net four times in 29 appearances in all competitions.
9. Morgan Schneiderlin
The French midfielder was once one of the highest-rated players outside of the big six due to his performances at Southampton.
Schneiderlin's efforts saw Man United slash £24m on him in 2015 with the hope of him becoming an important part of Louis van Gaal's midfield.
However, the Frenchman struggled to cement his spot at the club as he made 47 appearances in his two-and-a-half years at the club before he moved to Everton.
The main positive that Schneidelin brought to the club is that they managed to sell him for £25m.
8. Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay arrived at Old Trafford in 2015 with high expectations after excelling at PSV in his youth.
The Dutchman cost the club £25m but he failed to live up to his potential in a Red Devils shirt.
The winger made 53 appearances for the club, scoring just seven goals.
He left the club two years into a four-year contract as he moved Ligue 1 outfit Lyon and then later Barcelona.
7. Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez cost Manchester United far more than just a swap deal involving Henrik Mkhitaryan in January 2018.
The Chilean joined the club after an excellent spell with Arsenal but it quickly became clear that he would not replicate his form.
Sanchez scored only five goals in 45 appearances despite his astronomical £505k-a-week wages.
After 18 months he was loaned to Inter Milan, who he would then go on to join on a free transfer in 2020.
6. Donny van de Beek
The Dutch midfield maestro arrived at Old Trafford with great promise after he helped Ajax get to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Donny van de Beek cost United £35m however he has struggled to live up to the hype around his name.
The midfielder has suffered multiple injuries at the club which has seen him only make 60 appearances in all competitions since he joined.
5. Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial is another player who arrived at Old Trafford with great expectations.
United forked out £45m for the French attacker in 2015 and he got off to a great start for the club as he netted on his debut.
However, Martial started to become injury prone which has affected his abilities on the pitch.
In all competitions, Martial has made 301 appearances for the club, scoring 88 times.
However, the last time he managed double digits for goals in a single season was back in 2019/20.
4. Angel Di Maria
The Argentina star joined Manchester United as a marquee player in 2014.
Angel Di Maria left Real Madrid for the Red Devils and was widely considered as one of the best wingers in world football.
However, £60m was no guarantee that he would bring that form to Old Trafford.
Di Maria spent a single season in England before leaving for PSG in which he only played 32 times, scoring four goals.
3. Romelu Lukaku
At £75m, the signing of Lukaku looked like good money when he left Everton for United in 2017.
The Belgian striker had excelled at Merseyside, but struggled for the Red Devils.
Besides a few matches in which he showed what he was capable of, he was often seen as off the pace at Old Trafford.
Lukaku's record does not show just how he failed at the club as he scored 42 goals in only 96 appearances.
2. Harry Maguire
The England international has struggled at Manchester United since the club paid Leicester City a whopping £85m for his services in 2019.
Harry Maguire made some high-profile errors and won just the League Cup during his time at the club.
He did become a leader at the club as he was named captain by Ole Gunnar Solskjær in 2020, although he was later stripped of the honour by current boss Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman has also dropped Maguire from the starting line-up with a preference to play Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane ahead of him.
1. Paul Pogba
Manchester United's record signing could not have gone more wrong.
Paul Pogba had been in the club's academy before leaving on a free transfer to Juventus in 2012.
After becoming one of the standout midfielders in Europe, Pogba returned to United for a fee worth £89m in 2016.
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Despite flashes of his world-class ability, Pogba never hit the heights that were expected of him as he scored 39 goals in 233 appearances.
He then left the club for free in 2022, despite the club trying to give him a new deal.
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