Football

Manchester United have already spent a billion pounds in the post-Ferguson era. Which players has he paid the most for?

Long years of turmoil and misery, that’s what you could call the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era of Manchester United. England’s most successful club in history has not only not come close to the title, but is practically the laughing stock of the world, yet there is no shortage of money, the club has spent £1 billion since Ferguson left. Which players?

Published

2 years ago

21. 8. 2022

David Beňo

manchester united, maguire. Fernandes — Zdroj: West Ham United

Paul Pogba | £89m | Juventus | 2016

The Frenchman was supposed to be a key signing for former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and United’s owners, the Glazers, to return to the top.

Ferguson was furious when Pogba left United’s academy as a free agent – and Woodward made it his mission to bring him back.

The lanky midfielder, who arrived for a world-record fee from Juventus, led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup but has been a major disappointment at United.

He could create magical moments, he was just too inconsistent to inspire the club to former glories. This summer, he returned to Juve as a free agent.

Harry Maguire | £80m | Leicester | 2019

Jose Mourinho wanted the England international a year earlier, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made him his top target in his first summer window as head coach.

United beat Pep Guardiola to interest in Maguire and quickly appointed him captain. He didn’t play that badly in his first two seasons, it’s just that last season he gave insane performances and made horrendous mistakes, which led to heavy criticism from the fans.

He desperately needs to rediscover his old Leicester self under Ten Hag or he will be packing up from Old Trafford soon.

Romelu Lukaku | £75m | Everton | 2017

Tasked with replacing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lukaku has started in amazing form – scoring 11 goals in his first 10 games.

He then scored just once in the next 12 games, but still finished the season with 27 goals in all competitions.

However, the Belgian couldn’t build on that and was sold to Inter, with Solskjaer trying in vain to incorporate him into his system. With bonuses, the total sum came to £90 million.

Jadon Sancho | £73m | Borussia Dortmund | 2021

Sancho was a long-term transfer target for United, eventually arriving at Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, with the club believing they had acquired a future club legend.

However, Sancho was not helped by the sacking of Solskjaer just months after the start of the season and his slow acclimatisation to the Premier League cost him a place in the England squad.

He racked up a very poor 3+3 record last season and has so much to make up for in the current campaign.

Towards the end of last season, signs of his quality were already starting to emerge and Ten Hag expects him to be a key part of his attack.

Angel Di Maria | £59.7m | Real Madrid | 2014

The Argentine winger didn’t exactly win over the fans upon his arrival from Real as he was immediately handed the iconic number 7.

Despite an impressive start, scoring three times in his first five games, Di Maria’s involvement at Old Trafford came to a very quick end.

Yet at Real Madrid and later at PSG, he was one of the driving forces and extremely valid players. However, United failed to exploit the Argentine’s potential and Di María disappeared after just one year in a Red Devils jersey.