Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary coach for Manchester United left his post on 8th May 2013 after a career spanning more than 3 decades and being in one club for 27 years. He left a vicious gap in the vision in which United moved, who still haven’t found a worthy ‘gaffer’.
What followed was a plethora of head coaches from David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho to the new recruit, United boy Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. With changes in the style of play also came a change in the type of recruitment policy followed by Sir Alex. This resulted in signing big names from popular clubs with figures going above £50m. Even though some players adjusted to the pressure, some just stayed on without performing, some didn’t justify their tag and were sold just after.
Here’s a list of players who just didn’t have their time at United: -
Angel Di Maria
You can’t compile a Manchester United all-time worst signings list without including him, let alone the time period of the last 6 years. Di Maria signed for a record-breaking transfer fee of £59.7 million, the highest fee ever paid by a British club at the time and it broke all club records. Even though he was pretty satisfactory in the 2013-14 season netting 11 times in 52 matches for the Los Blancos, he was presented the number 7 from United which was worn by club legends before him.
He started his campaign well winning the United’s POTM and Goal of the Month for September and played well for the first half before being on the sideline due to a hamstring injury. He never found his form back during his stint and couldn’t fit in the role assigned to him as a forward. He was sent off in an FA Cup fixture against Arsenal and that was the last highlight of his season.
Eventually, as the new season dawned in, Van Gaal was quoted he "did not know why" Di Maria wasn’t with the team. A week later, Di Maria signed for PSG bringing forward large-scale rebuke from Manchester United fans for his lack of courtesy and professionalism and has been hated by the majority of fans since.
Alexis Sanchez
Same story, just different outcome. A big name from a big club. Big money move. Underperforming in the majority of matches but still not being offloaded. After three-and-a-half seasons with the Gunners, Alexis Sanchez left for Manchester United seeking new pastures and a salary of £400k-a-week in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who hasn’t been quite prolific for Arsenal as well.
Alexis Sanchez was unveiled in the most peculiar manner, by making him play the piano but he was overhyped since the beginning and failed to shine in the one-and-a-half season he has been with the team. Shambolic figures of 5 goals in 45 appearances for the team coupled with an ageing liability, who has no intention of leaving the team due to his wage demands which might not be fulfilled anywhere else. Just another transfer every other United fan wants to forget.
Eric Bailly
Bailly, the Ivorian International was bought in 2016 and was the first signing by Jose Mourinho. United was having a defender problem with both Ferdinand and Vidic leaving just after Sir Alex retired. With that in mind, a first-choice centre back with good strength who could serve the club for a decade, Bailly was a good choice. The fees paid were £30 million and Bailly signed a four-year contract worth £75000 a week, with an option of an additional two.
His spell started on a high note when he won two back to back MOTM and won United’s POTM for August 2016 but eventually injuries started getting the better of him when he suffered a serious knee injury in October. Even though he came back and made a total of 38 appearances that season, he didn’t get back his previous form. He has only made a total of 36 appearances in the next two seasons and plays 2nd fiddle to Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
Radamel Falcao
The explosive striker and a goal machine in the modern day of football with the "ability to bag a goal from nothing" didn’t really have a good loan tenure with United back in 2014. Known for his goal-scoring abilities, Falcao rode on an injury-stricken previous season where he got 11 goals from 11 starts.
Van Gaal had signed him up for a season on loan for £6 million for a year, with an option to sign permanently for £43.5 million when the season ends. The deal saw him earn £265,000 per week at the club, a lot of money for that time as well.
After debuting in September, he continued playing satisfactorily and scoring in October, December and January once each. Eventually, his form dropped and he was fielded by Van Gaal as a part of U-21s. Van Gaal was publicly criticised by former footballers for the act and thus Falcao’s contract ended and he wasn’t bought. Scoring only 4 times in 29 games for United, that’s a spell any striker let alone Falcao would want to forget.
Marcos Rojo
He signed from Spartak Moscow back in 2014/15 in the signing spree of Van Gaal era for, £16 million and on a five-year contract. A left back who could also play Centre back he was ready to go and it was a “dream come true” for him. Even though satisfactory from the beginning his career has been riddled with injuries where he was benched in the first season itself with a dislocated shoulder.
Even though it was a major injury, he still played 26 matches that season, followed by 28 and 41 matches in the 2016/17 season where United won the UEL and he was one of the major players in that campaign, even though he didn’t stay injury free long enough to play after the quarterfinals.
The 2016/17 season was the end of him and he has got on 18 matches in the last two seasons, even though he signed a contract in 2018, keeping him at the club till 2021.
To be honest, this is just the tip of the iceberg of a squad overloaded with deadwood and players who are just here for the fat paycheck. One needs to look into the matter and follow models being followed by all the big clubs nowadays.
