How many of Manchester United record signings have been successful?

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‘Unsustainable’ spending 

©TM/IMAGO

Sir Alex Ferguson transformed Manchester United from sleeping giants into one of the biggest clubs in the world. The legendary Scottish manager lifted the Champions League trophy twice and won 13 Premier League titles across his 26-year tenure at Old Trafford. United’s 20 English top-flight titles is a record – Liverpool are on course to equal that feat this season – but their fortunes have plummeted since Ferguson’s departure in 2013. United are no longer the dominant force in English football with their city rivals Manchester City inheriting the crown under Pep Guardiola.

High-profile managers have arrived, promising a return to former glories but they’ve all failed to deliver with United now languishing in 12th place in the table. Ruben Amorim labelled his current side as ‘the worst’ in Manchester United’s history and the deterioration of Old Trafford – once the leading stadium in the country – has been emblematic of United’s demise. Arguably the biggest factor behind United’s failings across the last decade has been their haphazard, and often reckless, transfer business. United have spent over €2 billion on players since Ferguson’s departure but a clear strategy has been absent. From United’s top ten record signings, we’ve analysed how many have been genuine successes on the day that club chiefs told a prominent fangroup that their historic spending is ‘unsustainable’.

As the graphic above illustrates, United have spent €2.02b on transfers since the start of the 2013/14 season when David Moyes replaced Ferguson. That ranks fourth overall across that time period with only PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea spending more. However, when it comes to net spend, United have the highest of any club in the world since 2013/14 with an eye-watering balance of -€1.42bn. When assessing United’s top ten record signings, only Bruno Fernandes registers as an indisputable success. The current captain often divides opinion but he’s comfortably been United’s best player since his €65m arrival from Sporting CP in January 2020. The attacking midfielder has been one of the most creative players in Europe with 87 goals and 77 assists across 264 games.

United’s record signing is Paul Pogba and some supporters would argue that he was a relative success. The French midfielder provided 87 goal contributions in 233 games but the fact that United lost him on a free only to buy him back for €105m for him to then leave for free again means he can’t be classed as a successful signing. Antony, United’s second most expensive player in their history, is arguably their worst ever addition with Erik ten Hag massively overpaying for his former Ajax winger. The Brazilian has registered just 17 goal contributions in 96 games and he’s destined to depart this month with Real Betis his likely destination.

Romelu Lukaku scored at a decent rate for United with 42 goals in 96 games. The Belgian was also sold to Inter for €74m so United recouped a large portion of their transfer fee but he failed to live up to expectations. Rasmus Hojlund still has time to prove his worth at Old Trafford but he’s struggled badly this season and his scoring record isn’t good enough. Harry Maguire remains a solid squad player under Amorim but United massively overpaid for him. And it’s a similar case for Mason Mount, especially as he was in the last year of his contract at Chelsea and he’s barely been available due to injury. The fact that nine of United’s top ten record signings have failed to deliver is a damning indictment of their transfer policy and INEOS must improve in this regard to bring success back to the club.