Ranking the 10 WORST Man Utd signings of the Premier League era: Antony 2nd, Di Maria 6th…
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, Manchester United’s struggles on the pitch have largely been attributed to their poor work in the transfer market.
But Ferguson didn’t have a flawless record with new signings, and also made a few mistakes during his time in the Old Trafford dugout.
We’ve taken a look at the 10 worst signings United have made in the Premier League era, starting with a Ferguson deal.
10) Bebe
One of the most bizarre signings of the Ferguson era, Bebe was plucked from relative obscurity when he joined United in August 2010 for a then hefty £7.4million fee.
Aside from a few pre-season friendlies at Vitoria Guimaraes, he had just a single season of semi-professional football under his belt prior to the move to Old Trafford.
It was also the only time in Ferguson’s managerial career when he had signed someone without either seeing him play in the flesh or watching him on a video.
That proved to be a terrible mistake as the winger was out of his depth and made just seven appearances for United, including a game against Wolves where he suffered the indignity of being subbed off as a substitute.
“We had not done our normal level of homework,” Ferguson admitted. “Bebe struggled at United, never became part of the furniture and, after putting him out on loan several times, we eventually sold him.”
9) Donny van de Beek
Van de Beek shot to prominence as part of the Ajax side that got to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, and he joined United a year later in a deal worth up to £39million.
But Bruno Fernandes had already established himself as the first-choice No.10 at Old Trafford, and predictably, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was unable to find a way to fit both men into his system.
The Netherlands international started just four Premier League games in his debut season and never got a regular run in the United team, although it’s also fair to say he didn’t do enough to earn one.
Even a reunion with former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag failed to reignite his career, and he spent the second half of the 2023-24 season on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Girona for a measly initial fee of £423,000.
8) Massimo Taibi
Following the Champions League final victory in 1999, United had the unenviable task of finding a replacement for the departing Peter Schmeichel.
Taibi was one of two goalkeepers signed that summer, and he showed some promising signs on his debut in a 3-2 win over Liverpool at Anfield.
A 1-1 draw against Wimbledon followed before the Italian destroyed his reputation with one of the most notorious howlers in Premier League history, allowing a speculative Matt Le Tissier shot to roll through his legs in a 3-3 draw against Southampton.
He let in another five goals against Chelsea a week later and never played for United again, making it four appearances, 11 goals conceded and no clean sheets.
7) Mason Mount
One of four Ten Hag signings on this list, Mount joined United from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 in a deal worth an initial £55million and £5million in add-ons.
At the time, it felt like a massive overpay for a player who had entered the final year on his contract at Stamford Bridge and would have been available on a free transfer in 2024.
And the deal has only got worse with hindsight, as the midfielder has endured an injury-plagued start to his United career.
He missed 70 games in all competitions across his first three seasons at Old Trafford, completing a full 90 minutes on just four occasions.
Even when fully fit, the England international faces the same problem as Van de Beek as he is behind Fernandes in the pecking order.
6) Angel Di Maria
Purchased for a then-British record transfer fee of £59.7million, Di Maria joined United on the back of a Man-of-the-Match display in Real Madrid’s 2014 Champions League final victory.
The Argentina international made a blistering start to life in the Premier League, scoring three goals and creating four others in his first six games.
But his form took a sharp downturn as the season progressed, and his relationship with Louis van Gaal became increasingly fractured.
His struggles at Old Trafford were only exacerbated by an attempted burglary at his house in Cheshire when he was at home with his young family.
He was sold to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2015 after refusing to join the club’s pre-season tour, and Van Gaal has since hit back at the winger.
“Di Maria says it was my problem. I played him in every attacking position. You can check that,” Van Gaal said.
“He never convinced me in any of those positions. He could not deal with the continuous pressure on the ball in the Premier League. That was his problem.”
The fact that United were at least able to recoup £44.3million from his sale means he isn’t higher up this list.
5) Manuel Ugarte
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS have started to improve the recruitment at United, but Ugarte represents their worst piece of business since they took control of footballing operations at Old Trafford.
The Uruguay international was signed from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day in the summer of 2024 in a deal worth an initial £42million and £8.4million in add-ons.
He was billed as the long-term successor to Casemiro, but struggled with the pace of the Premier League and was unable to overtake the Brazil international in the pecking order.
The midfielder started 30 league games across his first two seasons and United lost 16 of them, drawing seven and winning seven. That works out at less than a point per game.
United wanted to sell him in the last summer transfer window, but those plans were scuppered after he suffered a knee ligament injury at the World Cup.
4) Alexis Sanchez
History looked to be repeating itself when United fought off competition from Manchester City to sign a forward who had entered the final year of his contract at Arsenal.
Robin van Persie fired United to the Premier League title in 2012/13, and Sanchez was tipped to have a similar impact after swapping the Emirates for Old Trafford in January 2018.
United gave him the No.7 shirt, a grand (piano) unveiling and a base salary worth £350,000-per-week, while image rights, bonuses and add-ons would take that figure up to £560,000-per-week.
“Alexis Sanchez has set a new January signing record in terms of shirt sales, three times the previous record,” the then-executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward proudly told investors.
“This trade generated some interesting social media stats. It was the biggest United post on Instagram with 2 million likes and comments, the most shared United Facebook post ever, the most retweeted United post ever.”
But the Chile international failed to have an impact on the pitch, netting just five goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for United.
He was sent on loan to Inter Milan for the 2019/20 season and then joined the Serie A side on a permanent deal after his United contract was terminated by mutual consent.
3) Andre Onana
Releasing David de Gea at the end of the 2022/23 season was arguably the right decision, but replacing him with Onana was undoubtedly the wrong call.
United paid Inter Milan £47.2million for the goalkeeper, who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax and had just produced an impressive performance against Manchester City in the Champions League final.
He was viewed as United’s answer to Alisson and Ederson due to his impressive ball-playing ability, but that was never on display at Old Trafford.
The Cameroon international also made a series of errors and was almost single-handedly responsible for United’s group stage exit from the Champions League in 2023/24.
His time between the sticks unsurprisingly coincided with United’s worst-ever Premier League campaigns, finishing eighth in his debut season and 15th in 2024/25.
A poor performance in the Carabao Cup defeat to Grimsby Town at the start of his third season proved to be the final straw, and he was shipped off on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor.
2) Antony
Having worked with Antony in his final two years at Ajax, Ten Hag identified the winger as one of his top transfer targets after taking over at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022.
United initially informed Ajax they would be paying no more than £60million but caved to their demands on deadline day and agreed a total deal worth £85.6million with add-ons, making him the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history.
The Brazil international hit the ground running and became the first United player to score in each of their first three Premier League appearances.
But that proved to be nothing more than a false dawn, and after three in three came only two in 59.
An over-reliance on his favoured left foot brought a certain predictability to his game, allowing defenders to anticipate his moves and limit his effectiveness.
He was deemed surplus to requirements by Ruben Amorim and spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Real Betis before making the move permanent for £22.5million.
1) Jadon Sancho
Following a year-long pursuit, United finally agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Sancho for £73million in the summer of 2021.
The then-21-year-old arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation as one of football’s most exciting young talents, having registered 50 goals and 58 assists in 137 appearances for Dortmund.
But he failed to replicate his Dortmund form in a United shirt, delivering just nine goals and six assists in 58 Premier League appearances for the club.
The winger was also exiled from the first-team squad after a bust-up with Ten Hag in September 2023 and spent the second half of that season back on loan at Dortmund.
He made one more appearance for United, only to miss his penalty in a shootout defeat against Manchester City in the 2024 Community Shield.
The England international spent the following two years on loan at Chelsea and Aston Villa before United allowed him to leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2025/26 season.
