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Manchester United are no strangers when it comes to splashing the cash to sign popular players from the transfer market. The Red Devils have spent around €1.4 billion on transfers within the last 10 years. This makes them the second-highest spending Premier League club of the decade behind their neighbors Manchester City.
A significant number of these transfers cannot be said to have been made out of well-calculated deliberations or ideal circumstances. As a matter of fact, the Red Devils have become synonymous with panic signings in recent years, with a rich record of big-name flops in their books.
While Manchester United continue to run their business as usual in the transfer market this summer, we've decided to take a look at five notable panic buys the club has recorded over the years.
#5 Radamel Falcao
Manchester United endured a torrid outing in the Premier League during the 2013-14 season as they finished seventh in the table. They tried to turn things around by approaching the summer transfer window aggressively and signing a number of players, including Radamel Falcao, who arrived on a season-long loan deal on deadline day from Monaco
Ranked among the best strikers in Europe prior to his move to Old Trafford, it was unfortunate that the Colombian was a mere shadow of his former self. He scored just four goals in 29 games for the Red Devils. Manchester United let go of him at the end of the campaign and he ended up having another loan spell at Chelsea the following season.
#4 Odion Ighalo
An injury crisis forced Manchester United to search desperately for attacking options in January 2020. The Red Devils were linked with a move for then Bournemouth forward Joshua King towards the end of the transfer window.
On deadline day, the Premier League giants submitted their final offer to Bournemouth and reportedly gave the club just 15 minutes to accept it. The Cherries turned down the offer and Manchester United responded by signing Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua in a last-gasp loan swoop.
The former Watford striker had a fair stint at Old Trafford, scoring five goals in 19 games and earned a six-month extension to his initial loan deal. Ighalo left the Red Devils in January 2021 to join Saudi Arabia club Al Shabab.
#3 Angel Di Maria
Following his heroic performances in Real Madrid's Champions League triumph in 2014, Angel Di Maria became a sudden summer target for Manchester United. The Argentine arrived at Old Trafford with huge fanfare as the Red Devils paid a whopping €75 million for his signature.
Di Maria got off to a promising start, bagging two goals and two assists in his first four games. He even won the club's player of the month award in September. However, things only got worse from there.
The Argentine scored just two goals in his following 28 games for Manchester United and was highly scrutinized for abysmal displays in front of goal. When Paris Saint-Germain came knocking in the summer of 2015, the Red Devils decided to cut their losses and let him go for €63 million.
#2 Alexis Sachez
In another panicked transfer, Manchester United pipped their neighbors Manchester City to the signing of Alexis Sanchez in January 2018. Henrikh Mkhitaryan went the other way in a swap deal. It was evident that that move didn't have much to do with their need to sign the attacker, but the quest to prove a point to their city rivals.
The Chilean became the highest-paid footballer in the Premier League, pocketting around £500,000 per week upon landing at Old Trafford. However, his transfer also failed to produce the goods.
During his one-and-a-half year stint at Manchester United, Sanchez contributed a paltry five goals in 45 appearances, becoming one of the worst signings in the club's history. The fans felt a huge relief when he was offloaded to Inter Milan in August 2019.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United immediately turned their attention to the signing of a defensive midfielder after they lured Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford earlier this summer. With the likes of Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood at the club, it was evident that they had enough options in the attack.
Then came the news that Cristiano Ronaldo was nearing a move from Juventus to Manchester City and the Red Devils instantly stood on guard. To avoid seeing the greatest player in their history play for their local rivals, Manchester United decided to hijack the transfer. They signed the attacker instead for a reported €15 million plus €8 million in add-ons.
The Portuguese has agreed on a two-year deal at Old Trafford and is expected to pocket a massive £480,000 per week. It remains to be seen if the gamble will pay off this time.
