Ranking Manchester United's 10 most expensive signings

Back in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure at Manchester United, the Scottish manager ensured that he got the best out of his purchases. Sure, the Scottish manager was not averse to spending big if he felt the price tag was justified but it was his iron fist that ultimately made the difference.

Since his departure, the club’s ethos has changed from getting the best out of the players available to buying the best talent available. Now into their third manager in four years, the transfer policy has changed to bring in (potentially) world class players to the squad – an ideal shared by current manager Jose Mourinho.

Of course, the club are allowed to spend the money they generate from their 1,001 commercial deals without even having to nod their head in the direction of Financial Fair Play. In an inflated transfer market, no fee seems too high for the Premier League giants.

So we ranked United’s 10 most expensive signings ever. Who was their best? Who was the worst?

Note: Only players who played at least one season have been considered

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10) Angel Di Maria – £59.7m

Another signing that broke the English transfer record was Angel Di Maria’s move from Real Madrid to Manchester United in 2014. United wanted a player to take up the no.7 shirt and spent £59.7m to secure the services of the Man of the Match in the recently concluded Champions League final where Real won La Decima.

A lot was expected from the speedy Argentine winger but despite a strong start to the season Di Maria never settled in Manchester. Sadly, his form dipped by the turn of the year as injuries and a burglary affected his form. The biggest low was arguably his red card in a crucial FA Cup tie against Arsenal where he was sent off for grabbing the referee’s shirt to protest a decision.

By the summer, he was linked with various clubs and PSG came in with a £44m bid. Louis van Gaal publicly castigated him when he did not turn up for United’s pre-season and even the fans felt let down by his behaviour as he silently looked for a Premier League exit.

Rating: 4/10

9) Juan Sebastian Veron – £28.1m

Veron was a British record transfer when he moved to Manchester United from Lazio in 2001 but nobody predicted back then that he would go on to be one of the most expensive flops in Premier League history. Having been signed as a 26-year-old, Veron was supposed to be in his prime but he was nowhere close to being a star.

Having played in Italy for five years, Veron suffered when he moved to England as the pace of the game shook him. The Argentine midfielder struggled to find the same space and time he found in Italy to operate while injuries and niggles also saw his career decline to the point where fans refused to agree with Sir Alex Ferguson’s notions that he was “a f***ing great player.”

The only time Veron actually played well was in the Champions League, a competition that was not as physically demanding as the Premier League. But when Chelsea came in with an offer of £15m – almost half his transfer fee – the club and Fergie decided to get him off their books.

Rating: 5/10

8) Marouane Fellaini – £27.5m

Bought by David Moyes who decided to bring his biggest midfielder from former club Everton to Old Trafford, Fellaini has split United fans right down the middle. Some fans see him as a failed transfer by a manager who had no idea what he was doing. Others see him as the perfect squad player who sticks to the basics and follows instructions – the ideal Plan B candidate.

Lumping long balls and crosses to the big Belgian became the norm when everything else failed to work. The 29-year-old won more than 150 aerial duels this season alone despite starting only 25 games in the Premier League and Europa League combined.

Many expected Fellaini to head for the Old Trafford exit when Jose Mourinho was appointed but the Portuguese manager kept him on and used him effectively in a number of games when nothing else seemed to work. But it begs the question – especially with Nemanja Matic arriving – will he be in Mourinho’s plans next season?

Fellaini does not offer much in way of creativity and is not the best defensively, picking up nine yellow cards and a red card.

Rating: 6/10

7) Juan Mata – £37.1m

Only Jose Mourinho’s methods and tactics could have pushed out a two-time Player of the Year at Chelsea. Juan Mata was the darling of Blues fans following his move to Stamford Bridge. The Spaniard had also helped them win their first Champions League title after all.

David Moyes’ only major capture during his ill-fated reign at the club, Mata arrived with a lot of promise and a hefty price tag. But as Morpheus said in The Matrix, fate was not without its sense of irony as Mourinho took over the hot seat at Old Trafford.

However, this time he has stuck with Mata who has responded with performances in various positions. While he is not as effective out wide on the flank as he is in the centre, Mata has quietly gone about his business and made crucial contributions this season.

But you do get the feeling that he hasn’t reached the same heights he did with Chelsea. Can he improve under Mourinho or should he look elsewhere to play in a role more suitable to his skill set?

Rating: 6/10

6) Anthony Martial – £36.7m

It’s not easy playing with the tag of ‘World’s Most Expensive Teenager’, especially when you move from a relatively small Ligue 1 club to the biggest side in the Premier League. But Anthony Martial was unperturbed in his first season under Louis van Gaal. In fact, he made a mockery of the Liverpool defence in the derby to score on his debut and send the Old Trafford crowd into raptures.

Martial had a very good first season at the club, scoring 17 goals in all competitions. But Jose Mourinho’s arrival and the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic coupled with the rise of Marcus Rashford saw him receive fewer chances to play. It was a frustrating experience but even Mourinho made no qualms about it, claiming the Frenchman had to improve his work rate and give the manager what he wanted.

The 21-year-old could find himself at the crossroads if things don’t improve, though. Clubs have reportedly made tentative queries into his availability but Martial could well stay on for another season to prove his credentials. Besides, with such a high price tag, moving him on will be costly.

Rating: 7/10

5) Dimitar Berbatov – £30.75

United are accustomed to going for rival clubs’ star players and they raided Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 to get an absolute gem in Dimitar Berbatov. The London club, as always, drove a hard bargain and Berbatov cost a little over £30m to secure his services.

Although he displayed a lackadaisical approach to the game, his keen eye and composure in front of goal made him a lethal centre-forward who drew comparisons with another United legend – Eric Cantona. Nothing endeared him more to the United faithful than the hat-trick against Liverpool (the first by a United player against the Reds in 64 years) which included an overhead kick in a 3-2 win.

However, as he turned 30, he found starts hard to come by in a squad filled with attacking options. Being left out of the 2011 Champions League final squad also hurt him and he was gone the following season, joining Fulham on a two-year deal. But when he wore a United shirt, fans knew they would be treated to something special and he did deliver, especially in 2010/11 with 21 goals.

Rating: 7/10

4) Eric Bailly – £30m

With United’s homegrown defenders such as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones displaying alarming levels of inconsistency, Eric Bailly’s arrival was a breath of fresh air in a young defensive back-line. Here was a defender who was strong in the tackle, able to position himself well and also play the ball out from the back if required.

If not for his injury and the Africa Cup of Nations that saw United miss his services for the best part of two months, United may have finished higher in the table considering the kind of goals they conceded. Bailly was sorely missed and it soon became apparent that his signing was £30m well spent.

Bailly’s ability to also play as a right-back was also very useful to United when they switched to a back-three in certain games. United never lost any game in which he played in the back three.

Rating: 8/10

3) Ander Herrera – £29m

Following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, Ander Herrera was one of the main targets for David Moyes in 2013. However, at the time, Athletic Bilbao had flatly rejected United’s advances in spite of a £24m bid as the Spanish club had qualified for the Champions League. But the Red Devils finally got their man the next summer with a bid that was approximately £29m.

Herrera has been played in a variety of midfield roles – both in defensive and attacking roles. That also had a bit to do with managers trying to discover his best position. He wasn’t as creative as the others apart from a few flashes of brilliance while he wasn’t disciplined enough to play as a defensive midfielder. The box-to-box role soon became his calling thanks to his superior work rate and defensive positioning.

However, he has gained a reputation as a sly menace who gets away with a number of incidents that are frowned upon. Under Mourinho, he didn’t start games at first but soon worked his way back into the lineup at the expense of Fellaini.

The final few months of the season saw some inspiring performances including a Man of the Match performance in the Europa League final triumph. He also went home with the club’s Player of the Year award at the end of the season.

Rating: 8/10

2) Paul Pogba – £89.3m

By 2016, United had inked so many commercial deals ranging from official noodles partners to official lubricant oil partners (whatever that means) that they had enough money to buy another football club if they wanted to. But they settled on breaking the transfer record to sign Paul Pogba – four years after letting him go for free.

Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t want to deal with his agent but post-Fergie United dealt with Mino Raiola to bring the French midfielder back to Old Trafford (a deal that is now under investigation). But what he did on the field helped the club win two major trophies – the League Cup and the Europa League.

Pogba clocked more than 5,000 minutes for United and France this season and was a dominant force in midfield, especially in the Premier League. Though he took his time to adapt to the league’s pace, he was soon up there among the best passers in the country, even becoming the first player to complete 1,000 passes in the opposition half.

The France international is only 24 years old and has a long way to go in his career and the general feeling is that he can only get better. In that sense, United will see the record fee as an investment and will point to the trophies that are returning to the club as a sign that it was the right call to make to ‘bring him back home’.

Rating: 8/10

1) Rio Ferdinand – £30m

So highly sought-after was Rio Ferdinand that he broke the British transfer record and the record for the world’s most expensive defender twice – first when he moved to Leeds and later when the debt-ridden club sold him to United. The English defender was a hard-nosed centre-back who had also impressed with England on the international stage.

Although his early years at United were mired in the controversy surrounding his failure to attend a drug test and consequent eight-month ban, Ferdinand worked hard to regain his reputation that had been torn to shreds by the FA and FIFA.

Ferdinand and partner Nemanja Vidic then formed the formidable centre-back pairing that helped United win three consecutive league titles – the only club to do so in the Premier League era. He was not your typical English defender but a more cultured player who was comfortable on the ball and in the air, a true leader at the back who marshalled the backline.

Rating: 9/10