Manchester United have spent over £1.6 billion since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. That’s a lot of money for zero Premier League titles, especially when you consider how many Manchester City have won in that time…
61) Alexis Sanchez (swap)
The Red Devils signed one of the best players in the Premier League on astronomical wages and he seemed to become an incompetent footballer overnight.
60) Andy Kellett (loan)
Who? Exactly.
59) Radamel Falcao (£6.8m loan fee)
Another player who joined with a huge reputation; Falcao failed to rediscover his Porto and Atletico Madrid form during his spell with United and then Chelsea.
58) Angel Di Maria (£67.5m)
Joining off the back of a man-of-the-match performance in a Champions League final, Di Maria flopped at Old Trafford. The only saving grace from his stint in Manchester is that the club recouped £56.7m when he was sold to PSG less than a year after arriving.
57) Jadon Sancho (£76.5m)
The fact he has time to turn things around is what stops Sancho from being below Di Maria. It seems like Man Utd is simply the wrong club for him. At least him and Erik ten Hag have kissed made up. Or at least that’s what they want us to believe.
56) Memphis Depay (£30.6m)
Wearing the No. 7 shirt has become something of a curse since Cristiano Ronaldo left in 2009; even for the Portuguese himself since his return last summer.
Depay came in as a terrific youngster from the Netherlands and took on the famous number. The forward scored seven goals in 53 games and left for Lyon for a little over half of what Man Utd paid for him.
55) Paul Pogba (£94.5m)
Pogba left United for Juventus on a free transfer in 2012, only to be re-signed by the Premier League club for a world-record transfer fee, to then return to Turin on a free transfer in 2022.
54) Morgan Schneiderlin (£31.5m)
Schneiderlin was great for Southampton, so Louis van Gaal brought him to Old Trafford where the Frenchman was nowhere near good enough. He left for £20m, so it’s not all bad. Bloody Everton.
53) Bastian Schweinsteiger (£8m)
Schweinsteiger is a Bayern Munich legend and a forgettable Manchester United midfielder.
52) Martin Dubravka (£2m loan fee)
When Dubravka joined from Newcastle United, many expected him to feature in the Europa League group stage, but Dubravka only played three cup games before having his loan terminated in January. What a pointless transfer.
51) Jack Butland (loan)
Brought in for the rest of the season in January 2022 after Dubravka’s loan ended. Butland did not make a single appearance for the club. His form for Rangers has been spectacular.
50) Odion Ighalo (£10.8m loan fee)
£10m is a lot of money for a loan deal, especially when the player doesn’t improve you.
49) Guillermo Varela (£2m)
The Uruguayan right-back played four times in the Premier League for United.
48) Harry Maguire (£78.3m)
Often the scapegoat and always mocked, the former United captain has put in many good displays for the club. However, the bad outweighs the good and as a result, he has not even come close to nearly justifying his hefty price tag.
47) Romelu Lukaku (£76m)
He scored a decent amount of goals but didn’t do enough to merit a £76m transfer fee.
46) Antony (£80m) (16)
How much would Man Utd get for Antony if they made him available this summer? We would be stunned if they got over £25m. His stock is falling rapidly. What a f***ing disaster.
45) Donny van de Beek (£35m)
The pain has finally ended for poor Van de Beek, who is officially free, joining Girona ahead of the 24/25 campaign.
44) Lee Grant (£1.5m)
Fits the home-grown quota and joined Manchester United for no other reason.
43) Victor Valdes (free)
Both player and club could have done without this move.
42) Tahith Chong (free)
Having paid no transfer fee for the young Dutch winger, United looked like they did pretty well. He didn’t get much of a chance and was sold to Birmingham City for £1.5m after a successful year on loan before getting his chance in the Premier League with Luton Town. He did quite well.
41) Tom Heaton (free)
See Lee Grant. But Heaton was a free transfer.
40) Timothy Fosu-Mensah (£342k)
Fosu-Mensah was pretty cheap and United turned a profit in the end. He made 30 first-team appearances and was quite useful due to his versatility.
39) Dan James (£16m)
James was never good enough for Manchester United and was probably only signed as he was seen as Young And Hungry. The best thing to come from his move is that they turned a rare profit when they sold him to Leeds United.
38) Jonny Evans (free)
As random as they come, this one. Evans probably could have gone to a bottom-half Premier League side and played semi-regularly, but decided to return to Old Trafford after eight years away. FA Cup glory completed the set for Evans.
37) Matteo Darmian (£16m)
The Italian was bang average for United and was only sold for £2m.
36) Marcos Rojo (£18m)
Often erratic, Rojo was box office at times but had an average spell at Old Trafford.
35) Eric Bailly (£34m)
Erratic and amusing like Rojo, but for nearly double the price, Bailly left for Besiktas last summer.
34) Wout Weghorst (£2.6m loan fee)
Weghorst came in to fill a gap between January and June 2023 and was signed for peanuts, unlike Ighalo. Even still, it was a weird spell for everyone involved.
33) Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£37.8m)
The other half of the worst deal on this list, Mkhitaryan joined with lofty expectations having provided 90 goal contributions in 140 games for Borussia Dortmund.
He scored in a Europa League final victory for United. He also scored a scorpion kick (that would not have counted in the VAR era). Anything good he did for the club was eclipsed by the woeful swap deal which saw him go to Arsenal.
32) Hannibal Mejbri (£9m)
Bought from Monaco in 2019, Mejbri spent the 22/23 campaign on loan at Birmingham and wasted the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla.
31) Nemanja Matic (£40m)
United signed Matic four years too late.
30) Facundo Pellistri (£7.6m)
Time is on Pellistri’s side, with many at Old Trafford putting a lot of faith in the Uruguay international to come good.
29) Daley Blind (£15.7m)
Blind was a handy player to have. Versatile, consistent, rarely outstanding. He played over 140 times in four years at Old Trafford and is currently thriving at Girona.
28) Alex Telles (£13.5m)
Telles was decent when called upon but Ten Hag sent him out on loan to Sevilla in his first summer at Old Trafford. He joined Al Nassr permanently last July.
27) Amad Diallo (£19m)
After a rubbish loan spell with Rangers, Diallo was being written off by many (myself included). However, his time with Sunderland was superb with the young Ivorian increasing his transfer value and staking a claim for minutes in the Premier League.
Having said that, his transfer fee could rise to £37m, which still looks like a poor investment.
26) Marouane Fellaini (£29m)
Fellaini was the first signing post-Ferguson after David Moyes bought him on deadline day for a higher price than the release clause that was active earlier in the window. He made 177 appearances for the Red Devils before leaving for Shandong Taishan in 2019.
25) Anthony Martial (£54m)
Martial joined as the most expensive teenager in world football, scored a wonderful goal on his debut and was being compared to Thierry Henry. He scored 17 goals in 32 Premier League matches in 19/20 and looked like he was coming of age. Since then, he has looked slow and poor in front of goal.
After an underwhelming loan spell at Sevilla, Ten Hag gave Martial another chance with his fitness letting him down. The Ballon d’Or clause in his contract is what I will always remember him for.
24) Sofyan Amrabat (£8.5m loan fee)
If Amrabat played like he did in his last month at Old Trafford all season, he would be a lot higher.
23) Mason Mount (£55.4m)
The jury will probably be out on this one for a while. There is a lot of pressure on Mount to succeed as he is someone who has divided opinions during his entire senior career, whether that be for Chelsea or England.
Regardless of your opinion of the man, he is clearly a manager’s dream and will make Man Utd’s midfield a lot more dynamic and energetic…when he is fit.
22) Tyrell Malacia (£13m)
Malacia quickly shifted Luke Shaw out of the starting XI before generously giving his spot back to the England international. He did not make a single appearance last season and is involved in pre-season training.
21) Joshua Zirkzee (£36.5m)
Middle of the road would be fine for a new signing like Zirkzee. The awful standard on this list means he is a little bit higher. His debut season can only be better than Rasmus Hojlund’s, though the Dane has more potential we feel.
20) Victor Lindelof (£31.5m)
Another expensive centre-half, Lindelof has not been a bad signing. But ‘not bad’ doesn’t really cut the mustard for Manchester United. After all, This Is Manchester United We’re Talking About.
19) Rasmus Hojlund (£64.7m)
There remain big expectations for Hojlund after a disappointing debut campaign. Given his inexperience, you can forgive him for using his first season to settle in.
It’s a lot of money for a young player. Patience is a virtue, folks. It is vitally important to remember that.
18) Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£49.5m)
Wan-Bissaka is arguably Erik ten Hag’s biggest success story at Manchester United. The right-back enjoyed a very productive 22/23 campaign and is very highly rated by Red Devils fans.
Nonetheless, his transfer fee will always look very silly.
17) Raphael Varane (£36m)
Varane failed to convince everyone that he is in fact a four-time Champions League winner in his time at Old Trafford. Injuries absolutely did not help but what a disappointment he was.
The Frenchman is off to Cesc Fabregas’ Como.
16) Marcel Sabitzer (loan)
And as far as half-season emergency loans go, this was a success. Ten Hag decided against signing Sabitzer on a permanent basis, which looks a bit silly now.
15) Sergio Romero (free)
And as far as back-up goalkeepers go, Romero was pretty good. And he cost bugger all, which is always a bonus.
14) Edinson Cavani (free)
Seventeen goals in 39 games in his first season was a great return from a player signed on a free transfer. He was rewarded with a new contract before Man Utd bought Cristiano Ronaldo, screwing the Uruguayan over.
13) Juan Mata (£40m)
David Moyes’ second major signing after Fellaini, Mata joined after falling out of favour at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. The Spaniard played 285 times for the Red Devils, with game time hard to come from the start of 20/21 up until his departure in June 2022.
12) Fred (£53m)
A couple of seasons ago Fred was in the same bracket as Lukaku, Pogba, and others as the big-money flops. But the Brazilian midfielder massively improved in his last two years at the club.
£53m is still pretty bloody steep, mind.
11) Andre Onana (£45.2m)
Upgrading on David de Gea should have been Erik ten Hag’s top priority when he took over and it took him a year to realise the Spaniard needed to be replaced. Do not be blinded by his 22/23 Golden Glove.
Onana is a big upgrade on De Gea, who is still without a club having failed to earn a contract extension over a year ago.
10) Ander Herrera (£32m)
Herrera was named Manchester United Fans’ Player of the Season in 2017 after he helped them win the League Cup and Europa League. He played 189 times for the Red Devils and was a fan favourite due to his passion, tireless work rate, and man-marking techniques; just ask Eden Hazard.
9) Cristiano Ronaldo (£13.5m)
There’s not a lot to say that has not already been said. £13.5m for the most marketable footballer on the planet isn’t too bad at the end of the day. Even if it ended up turning into the biggest circus in world football.
8) Christian Eriksen (free)
A lot of us fancied Eriksen to be the bargain of the 22/23 campaign and his transfer fee – or lack of – is doing a lot of heavy lifting. He has been pretty average. We still love you, Christian.
7) Diogo Dalot (£19.8m)
Dalot’s time at the club looked up in the summer of 2021 with Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma circling, however, he has since established himself as the club’s first-choice right-back ahead of Wan-Bissaka, before it became the flip of a coin for Ten Hag. At this moment in time, Dalot is pretty far ahead in the pecking order as Wan-Bissaka nears an exit.
6) Lisandro Martinez (£50m)
Martinez is a brilliant footballer who adapted to Premier League life very quickly despite being written off before kicking a ball. The Argentine World Cup winner attracted interest from Arsenal before joining the Red Devils and it is clear to see why. His return from injury at the end of 23/24 helped Ten Hag save his job by winning the FA Cup.
5) Luke Shaw (£33.7m)
He has been criticised for his fitness and defending during his Man Utd career, but he is one of few to actually live up to his transfer fee.
Shaw is one of the best left-backs in the world and someone Ten Hag depends on.
4) Casemiro (£61.5m)
After spending the whole 2022 summer transfer window chasing Frenkie de Jong, United realised that Casemiro was sitting right there willing to slot straight into their midfield.
This is such a weird one now. In his debut season, Casemiro was outstanding and the main reason Ten Hag was able to end the club’s trophy drought and finish third in the Premier League, which is why he is so high here.
In his second season, the Brazilian was awful. He looked remarkably off the pace and now Man Utd are praying a Saudi Arabian club bails them out.
At this stage, the Red Devils shouldn’t be too bothered about what transfer fee they get; it’s all about getting Casemiro’s monstrous contract off the books.
3) Alejandro Garnacho (£400k)
£400,000 is proving to be more of a bargain every time we see Garnacho play.
He looks like becoming the real deal and has already scored a Premier League goal of a season and in the final of an FA Cup victory. Man Utd have done extremely well here. A broken clock is right twice a day and all that.
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free)
This is arguably the first signing on this list which was/has been a huge, unqualified success at Old Trafford. It only took 59 players to get here but at least we did.
Zlatan scored 28 goals and provided 10 assists in his only full season, helped the Red Devils win the Europa League and scored a brace in the final of the League Cup as they beat Southampton 3-2 at Wembley. In 17/18, he struggled for fitness and left for LA Galaxy, for whom he scored 22 goals in 27 games in the same campaign.
1) Bruno Fernandes (£56.7m)
Although his performances are not as good as they were during the behind-closed-doors days, Bruno Fernandes has been a revelation at Old Trafford. In his first season and a half, Fernandes provided 65 goal contributions in 80 games and was the best player in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side by a country mile.
He is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and a rare bit of great business by the Red Devils. It will take a lot to bump him off top spot.
