Manchester United are under heavy criticism from various pundits, fans and the media for their poor transfer record after Sir Alex Ferguson left. Currently trailing by a massive 15 points, United’s titles hopes are all but over. And they need to improve their current form in order to be the “Best of the rest” as Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs are in hot form at the moment. Although United’s transfer record is being rightly criticized at the moment, all the blame doesn’t lie with the current manager Jose Mourinho. Ever since David Moyes became the manager, Ed Woodward has been in charge of negotiating the transfers. The players who have come in not only have been massively under-performing but are also were/are on huge wages. Let’s take a look at 5 of the most disappointing transfer made by Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Angel Di Maria
The first genuine superstar signing after Ferguson left, Di Maria started off his career excellently. But injury and Van Gaal’s refusal to play him in his natural role left him frustrated and out of form. At least United were able to recoup most of the money they paid for him when he was sold to PSG within a year.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Another signing by Van Gaal, Schneiderlin failed to make any sort of an impact at United. He had a more free and a box to box role at Southampton but was mostly played as a defensive midfielder at United and he struggled to adapt. He was sold by Jose Mourinho to Everton where he has failed to recover his form.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Although signed for a minimal fee, Schweinsteiger was on massive wages during his time at United when it was pretty clear that he was well past his age. Another transfer which didn’t make any sense financially, Mourinho completely isolated the German after his arrival until his move to the MLS.
Memphis Depay
Another player who arrived with huge hype as the Dutch player of the year, Depay failed miserably to convince either Van Gaal or Mourinho that he has the talent to succeed at Old Trafford.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Before people get upset that Mkhitaryan is part of this list, lets take a look at his stats at Dortmund the season before he joined United. In the 2015/16 season, the Armenian had 11 goals and 15 assists in only 28 starts in the Bundesliga and was named as the Bundesliga player of the year. Considering this, his form at United over the course of last season and this season till date has been poor. Whether this is due to him not being able to adapt to the Premier League or because of Mourinho’s stifling tactics is up for debate.