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Old Trafford has witnessed some legendary footballers wearing the famous red shirt. In addition to promoting youth talents like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, George Best, Mark Hughes, and Gary Neville; they have brought in some world class players over the years.
Not every great talent succeeded at Manchester United. The Red Devils have suffered a lot in the transfer market ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford.
They have made some poor decisions in the transfer market and it reflected heavily on the success of the club.
On that note, let's have a look at 6 footballers who wasted their talents at Old Trafford in the recent past:
#6 Morgan Schneiderlin
Morgan Schneiderlin was one of the best central midfielders in England during his days at Southampton. Schneiderlin was a huge success at St Mary's. The Frenchman made 260 appearances for the club and scored 15 goals. His Southampton form earned him a chance to play for France in 2014.
The Red Devils wanted to replace Michael Carrick and Schneiderlin was thought of as an ideal candidate. However, things did not go as Louis van Gaal planned. He then moved to Everton in the January transfer window, just 18 months into his Old Trafford Contract. He made only 32 Premier League appearances for Manchester United.
The 28-year-old only started three games under Jose Mourinho. He spent most of his time on the bench and the arrival of Paul Pogba did not help his cause. One may feel that he was not given enough time to adapt and the departure of Van Gaal too played its part.
#5 Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao is one of the most successful strikers in European football. He joined Porto at the age of 23 and scored 41 goals in 51 appearances for the Portuguese giants in Primeira Liga. He then moved to Atletico Madrid and had a great career in Spain.
The Columbian international scored 52 goals in 68 appearances for Atletico Madrid in La Liga. He left Atletico in 2013 and joined the French giants Monaco. In 2014, United brought him on a loan deal but Falcao was never the same at Manchester United. He struggled for goals and scored only 4 in 26 Premier League appearances.
He struggled to adapt to the demands of English football and left Manchester United in just 12 months. He finally returned to Monaco and led them to the Ligue 1 title in 2017.
#4 Memphis Depay
After making his first-team debut for PSV Eindhoven in September 2011, Memphis went on to make 124 appearances and score 50 goals for the team. The Holland international was Eredivisie's top goal scorer in 2014/15 with 22 goals from 30 appearances.
The 21-year-old joined Manchester United in a £25 million deal and a lot was expected of the winger who already played 16 games for the Dutch national team. However, he failed to fulfill his potential at Old Trafford
He made 53 appearances for the Red Devils and scored only 7 times. He could not reproduce his PSV form at United and failed to influence the game on a consistent basis. He struggled to adapt to the demands of the Premier League football.
The talent was there to see but United bought him a season too early and set him the wrong expectations, which proved to be too much for the 21-year-old.
#3 Bastian Schweinsteiger
The World Cup winner arrived at Manchester United during the summer of 2015. After 17 years and 8 Bundesliga titles with Bayern, Schweinsteiger moved to England with a lot of expectations. With his experience and abilities, he was brought in to add steel to the United midfield.
However, his playing time was restricted at Manchester United. He was never able to cement his place in the United team and never played at the level that made him one of the best midfielders in the world.
It was a poor transfer strategy from Manchester United to buy a player who was at the tail end of his career. Eventually, he left the club in early 2017, after making only 18 Premier League appearances for the club.
#2 Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria had a successful spell with Real Madrid where he lifted La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League. He made 190 appearances for the team and scored 36 goals during his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Louis van Gaal brought the Argentine for a then-British record fee of £59.7million but, despite a positive start to his Old Trafford career, the winger failed to live up to the hype. He made only 32 appearances for Manchester United and left the club in 12 months.
However, many felt that he was never given a chance to settle in his role and was moved around the pitch so much. He played in central midfield, on the left wing, as a number 10, and as a central striker. He is a natural attacking player but van Gaal nullified his effect with a defensive approach to the games.
It was a big mistake on the part of Manchester United and eventually, they sold him the next summer to PSG. United incurred a loss of almost £15 million on Angel di Maria.
#1 Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian arrived at Old Trafford after a stellar season with the German club Borussia Dortmund where he had scored 11 goals and assisted 15 more in his last season with Dortmund. Mourinho wanted a world-class no.10 and Mkhitaryan was thought of an ideal candidate.
However, he took time to settle at Old Trafford and only made 15 Premier League appearances in his first season with United. He was able to score only 5 times in his debut season. Though he started 2017/18 season in a brilliant fashion with 5 assists from 3 games, his form deteriorated badly as the season progressed.
He struggled to influence games and Mourinho’s playing style did not suit the Armenian either. The emergence of Jesse Lingard reduced his playing time and he could not rediscover his Bundesliga form. Eventually, Manchester United swapped him for Alexis Sanchez during the January transfer window.
