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Sir Alex Ferguson has been a phenomenal manager and is arguably one of the best ever in the game. He's had an amazing managerial career and is no less than a legend at Manchester United.
Despite Manchester United's policy to promote their academy players, it is only logical that Sir Alex Ferguson made some signings during his time. Some of his signings did wonderfully well and the best example of that would be Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sir Alex Ferguson made some terrible signings
While Sir Alex Ferguson was a master at man-management, he certainly made some wrong calls while at Manchester United. The Scottish manager made some poor signings, which did not help United's cause at all.
Some of those signings were quite bad and were of almost no use to Manchester United. In view of that, let's take a look at some of the worst signings made by Sir Alex Ferguson:
#5 Eric Djemba-Djemba
Manchester United, under Sir Alex Ferguson, were looking for a long-term replacement for then 31-year old Roy Keane. Eric Djemba-Djemba impressed many during his time at Nantes in France.
This encouraged many clubs to go after his signature but Manchester United's intent was the strongest which helped them sign the Cameroonian. He was signed in the summer of 2003 for a fee of £3.5 million. During his time with the Red Devils, he managed to win the FA Cup and Community Shield once but was never able to sustain a run of good form.
He struggled to impress the fans and the management and certainly couldn't prove to be a suitable heir to Roy Keane in midfield. Djemba-Djemba was sold to Aston Villa in 2005 for a fee of £1.5 million.
#4 Kleberson
Kleberson started his football career with Atletico Paranaense in Brazil. After winning the Parana State League in 2000 and 2001 combined with the Brazilian Serie A win in 2001, he was called up to play for the Brazil national team.
The midfielder played an important role in Brazil's successful run in the 2002 World Cup. The then Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was all praise for Kleberson, which helped him attract interest from Barcelona, Newcastle United, Leeds United and Celtic.
In the end, Manchester United ended up signing the Brazilian for a fee of £6.5 million. Unfortunately, Kleberson could not replicate the same form with the Red Devils, making only 20 appearances in two seasons. He was shipped off to Besiktas in 2005, rendering it as one of the most underwhelming signings by Sir Alex Ferguson.
#3 Massimo Taibi
Sir Alex Ferguson was possibly the happiest man on the planet after winning the treble in the 1998-99 season with Manchester United. But soon after that, he was forced to bring in a goalkeeper for the departing Peter Schmeichel.
It was definitely not going to be easy to fill the Danish goalkeeper's shoes. With another goalkeeper, Mark Bosnich, injured, Sir Alex Ferguson sought to sign Massimo Taibi from Italian side Venezia. It was a surprising choice given Taibi's previous experiences but it was too soon to write him off.
Taibi shared his goalkeeping duties with Raimond van der Gouw but his frequent silly mistakes in front of goal did not bode well with Sir Alex Ferguson. He let a weak shot from Southampton's Matthew Le Tissier pass through his legs into the goal which infuriarated the Scottish manager. After that incident, he played only once for the Red Devils and was eventually sold to Reggina in Italy.
#2 Bebe
Bebe's signing was a very questionable one since Sir Alex Ferguson has himself admitted that he had not seen him play before signing. He had just signed on free for Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal before Manchester United made a move for him.
Bebe was signed for a fee of £7.4 million and the club resisted sending him out on loan so that he could develop and also learn English at the same time. Unfortunately, the patience shown by Manchester United did not yield any sweet fruit as the Portuguese struggled immensely to impress.
He was eventually sent out on loan to Besiktas in 2011. He was banished from the Turkish side after he broke a team curfew. He was then given a chance in the pre-season to prove himself but even that did not work out. After two more loan moves, Bebe was sold to Benfica. Signing him was a utter waste of money for the Red Devils.
#1 Juan Sebastian Veron
Juan Sebastian Veron was doing very well with Lazio in Serie A before Manchester United came knocking for his signature in 2001. He had already won the Italian league with Lazio in the 1999-00 season, scoring eight goals and recording 11 assists that season.
Manchester United had to pay a fee of £28.1 million to the Italian side to sign Veron, making it the most expensive transfer in English football back then. The Argentine playmaker started well under Sir Alex Ferguson but over time, he struggled to adapt to the fast pace of the Premier League.
He struggled to find the time and space to allow him to create effectively. With injuries also being a recurring issue, Veron was having it difficult in England. Despite winning the Premier League in the 2002-03 season, he was sold to Chelsea for half his record transfer value the following season.
Even with the Blues, Veron had problems adapting to the style of football in England. He joined Inter Milan later on and could never return to England thereafter. Sir Alex Ferguson desperately wanted the Argentine to shine at Manchester United, but it never happened.
