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After 18 long years of tyrannical tomfoolery, Manchester United seem to be on the verge of getting rid of their profligate owners, the Glazers. Like most things with the Glazers, the takeover saga has been dragged out and the fans cannot wait for the club to move on to a new era under a new era.
The Glazers, who took over in 2005, took a debt-free Manchester United by borrowing much of the takeover sum against the club and have been using it as a cash cow of sorts. Fans have been miffed with the way the Glazers have treated the club throughout.
Following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from the helm in 2013, the rot at the club became more patent. The divide between the owners and the fans has only grown wider since.
Stadium and training ground upgrades have been callously overlooked and the club is lagging behind Europe's elite when it comes to infrastructure and various other departments. However, one thing the Glazers have working for them is the fact that they have never shied away from splashing fortunes on new signings.
The only problem with that though is that a number of them have been extremely ill-advised acquisitions. Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the worst signings made by Manchester United in the Glazer era.
#5 Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho is only 23 years old and could yet come good for Manchester United. As such, it could be a little premature to dismiss him as a failed signing although the evidence at hand is quite persuasive.
Sancho had already burgeoned into a superstar at Borussia Dortmund by the time United signed him. He had scored 50 goals and providing 64 assists in 137 appearances in all competitions for the Bundesliga giants.
At the end of a drawn-out saga that stretched over a year, United shelled out €85 million to sign him in 2021 and they were expecting him to hit the ground running at Old Trafford.
However, despite some flashes of genius that he has ever so sparingly produced, Sancho's time at the club has been a huge disappointment.
He has scored just 12 goals and provided six assists in 79 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils so far. Current manager Erik ten Hag even sent Sancho away to gather his bearings and earn his place back in the squad.
The 23-year-old is currently on the brink of getting demoted to benchwarmer status by teenager Alejandro Garnacho who had a stellar debut campaign this past term.
#4 Bebe
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest managers of all time but even he is not alien to making calamitous errors in the transfer market. Bebe's acquisition in 2010 from Portuguese club Vitoria de Guimaraes for £9 million highlights that.
Bebe was quickly exposed as being out of his depth at Manchester United and Ferguson has since addressed the ill-advised move with a tone of resignation. He said:
"I know Real Madrid were hovering and so were Benfica. It was one of those decisions that had to be made quickly.
"Sometimes you have to go on instinct and sometimes you have to trust your staff as well. This was a first for me, but we rate our scouting department very highly and our scout in Portugal was adamant we needed to do something."
Even Bebe was reportedly surprised when he learned that the Red Devils wanted to sign him, according to The Metro. The Portuguese attacker ended up making just seven appearances and scoring two goals for Manchester United.
He was then sent on loan to Besiktas, Rio Ave and Pacos de Ferreira over the next few years before being sold to Benfica in 2016.
#3 Donny van de Beek
A section of Manchester United's fanbase continues to defend Donny van de Beek to this very day. But the overwhelming evidence on the other side suggests that he is not cut out for the Premier League.
If his lacklustre showings for the Red Devils weren't enough, Van de Beek did himself no favours during his half-season loan spell at Everton in the 2021-22 season. Van de Beek failed to nail down a starting spot even at Everton and made just seven appearances for the Goodies, scoring just one goal.
His stats for United make for horrendous reading. The 26-year-old has scored twice and provided two assists in 60 appearances for the Red Devils since joining the club in the summer of 2020 for €39 million. It was yet another injudicious signing made under the ruinous ex-CEO of Manchester United Ed Woodward.
Current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag had previously worked with Van de Beek at Ajax and it was under the Dutch coach that the midfielder enjoyed his best years. However, Ten Hag's arrival at Old Trafford did not make things any better for Van de Beek and he continued to be a peripheral figure at the club.
He then picked up a knee injury in January 2023 and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Van de Beek is heavily linked with an exit right now and will go down as one of Manchester United's worst-ever signings.
#2 Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria produced a man-of-the-match display in Real Madrid's 2014 Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid.
Therefore, it was baffling to fans all over the world that Real Madrid were ready to part with the Argentine winger that summer. This was especially because he looked like he was set to hit his prime.
Manchester United swooped in and Di Maria arrived at Old Trafford amid huge fanfare. He got off to a bright start to life at United under Louis van Gaal and produced a few moments of magic in his early days at the club.
But the veteran Dutch coach's rigid system was too limiting for a player as fluid as Di Maria. He couldn't play his natural game and Van Gaal even played him out of position multiple times.
Despite his struggles, Di Maria still produced 12 assists and scored four goals in 33 appearances across all competitions for United in his only season there. But his stint is remembered for the lack of consistency and confusion he brought to the whole setup.
It was yet another case of United trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Di Maria left the club the following summer for €63 million much to the dismay of fans.
#1 Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez was an absolute menace at Arsenal. The former Barcelona winger was one of the most direct and effective wingers the Premier League had seen in the modern era. He scored 80 goals and provided 45 assists in 166 appearances for the Gunners during his four-year stint at the Emirates.
He was scoring goals and creating opportunities for his teammates on a prolific basis and had become one of the most coveted attackers in the world. That's why, at some level, it made sense for Manchester United to invest a fortune on Sanchez in 2018.
However, the Chile international looked lost at Old Trafford from the get-go. Not before long, he had become a shadow of his former self. Bereft of confidence and having evidently lost his mojo, Sanchez's time at Manchester United could be best described as mediocre, and that's being generous.
Sanchez was reportedly earning over €400,000 per week in wages and did absolutely nothing to warrant such a lucrative package. In 45 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils, Sanchez scored five goals and provided nine assists. He eventually joined Inter Milan in the summer of 2020 on a free transfer.
