Five Man Utd transfer blunders that gave club highest net spend in the WORLD

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Manchester United's recruitment and retention in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson has painted a bleak picture, but never more so than in the last five years.

Their net spend on transfer over the past half a decade has been the highest in the world and yet they're no closer to being the dominant force in the Premier League . They're not even regulars in the Champions League .

In fact, for spending a net fee of £692million, the Manchester outfit only have an FA Cup and a Carabao Cup to show for it. That figure is across a five-year period, detailed in a UEFA financial report. They have spent more than Chelsea (£656m) and Arsenal (£587m) but their squad still has a number of holes.

This summer has shown some green shoots with proven performers Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha both being signed. Benjamin Sesko, despite a slow start, was regarded among the best young strikers in Europe.

But since 2021, United have had three permanent managers, seen a new ownership structure come in, major changes to their hierarchy, which includes differing sporting directors. Add it all up and you get a plethora of different strategies, the majority of which haven't worked.

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It means huge sums have been spent on players who have underdelivered. A narrative that has continued to drag on. Equally the club have overlooked players they've had on their books. In the years after Ferguson's departure the club had a thing for big names, often downplaying some of the talent they already possessed.

They've look to move away from that but the success of players in their post-Old Trafford eras suggests they're still getting it wrong. The numbers don't lie and United's reputation for being poor at buying and selling is not baseless as we detail some of their biggest failings in the market.

If anything summed up the United failings since 2013 it was constantly allowing managers to call the shots, signing whoever they wanted, sometimes for however much they wanted. Whatever sell Erik ten Hag gave to the United bosses about Antony, it worked. So much so that they paid an initial £80m to land the Brazilian, who had been impressive at Ajax, but certainly not a player deserving of that fee.

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A debut goal against Arsenal was as good as it got, but within months he was the poster boy of another summer of failed recruitment. The damning thing about the environment at Old Trafford is that Antony has looked a competent player at Real Betis, but joining the Spanish side for £21m represents a staggering loss.

Not content to spend big on one unproven player sought by Ten Hag, United pulled off the same trick a year later. In need of a striker the club scoured the market and landed on a 20-year-old Dane who had scored 10 goals in 34 appearances for Atalanta.

The then United boss batted away concerns over his age and lack of experience. Instead he was sold as a player for the long-term, one who would develop. Nevertheless £70m is a lot to fork out for a project player, one who took until late December to score in the Premier League for the first time. After two years he was deemed surplus to requirements, now at Napoli, who have a £38m clause to buy him in the summer.

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In Italy Hojlund can class one Scott McTominay, named the best player in Serie A last year, as his team-mate. The same McTominay who formed part of a defensive midfield duo with Fred, known as McFred, that were ridiculed at times. The Scot was never seen as a player capable of being overly productive in the final third.

His goalscoring exploits in his final season came as something of a shock and Ten Hag was happy to move him on for £25m. For context, Arsenal moved on Emile Smith Rowe that same summer for even more cash. McTominay would be the big winner from the move, landing an Italian title, a new adoring fanbase and would now command more than double what United sold him for.

McTominay was part of the United squad in the summer of 2021 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer , off the back of finishing second, went for it in the transfer market in a bid to take the final step. His spree included the £70m signing of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane for £34m and the return of Cristiano Ronaldo .

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Within months the Norwegian boss was axed following a huge demise. Ronaldo's influence was question, Sancho has never lived up to his fee and is due to leave for nothing when his contract expires this summer. Varane too left on a free. A summer that promised a lot, delivered next to nothing.

If Solskjaer did one thing it was, largely, give youth a go. Some of his loyalties though cost the club, as was the case with Dean Henderson. The goalkeeper was the coming man when he returned from Sheffield United, but Solskjaer remained loyal to David de Gea and Henderson's patience ran out. He was sold for just £15m and has since become an FA Cup winner.

Anthony Elanga scored the winner to down United whilst at Nottingham Forest last season. His exploits earned him a move to Newcastle , who paid £55m to land his services, two years after the Red Devils had cashed in on him for £15m.

These are by no means two isolated incidents. Alvaro Carreras once called Manchester home, but was never given a look in before being sold to Benfica in 2024 for £7.8m. A year later and Real Madrid paid £43m to bring him to the Bernabeu. United are either undervaluing or underusing these players. Either way its not a good look and has an impact on the balance sheet.

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