Manchester United’s biggest flops in the Premier League history

• United has dropped off the English throne since Alex Ferguson’s departure, with the club not winning the Premier title for almost a decade
• A poor recruitment policy is to blame for a lot of their shortcomings, with the Red Devils making too many devastating signings in recent years

• Harry Maguire will go down in history as a Manchester United flop, and a massive

Manchester United are still the most successful team in the Premier League’s history, but they’ve made several costly mistakes along the road.

With 13 Premier League titles under their belt, the Red Devils have seen several superstars wear their famed uniforms in recent years.

In this post, we will discuss the biggest Manchester United flops. 

Owen Hargreaves 

Owen Hargreaves. Photo: MARCA

To be fair to Manchester United, signing Hargreaves seemed like a real deal in 2007.

The only stumbling block was that he had recently recovered from a broken leg, but he had been so good for Bayern Munich and England that there was little reason to expect things to go as they did.

Hargreaves had a fantastic first season at Old Trafford and was a part of the team that won the Champions League in 2008. After that, He only plays for the Red Devils five more times 

This was owing to severe knee injuries in both knees. After one game for Manchester City, he was released and retired at 31.

Memphis Depay

Depay’s youth coaches at PSV compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo, which is a difficult comparison to make for any young player.

On the other hand, the Dutchman had made a significant impression in the Eredivise and was a player Louis van Gaal was desperate to sign at Manchester United.

To give Depay his due, he worked hard at Old Trafford to make it work, but after 18 months, he was transferred to Lyon.

He has now resurrected his career and established himself as a star for the Netherlands and Barcelona.

Angel di Maria 

Angel Di Maria. Photo: Getty mages

This was a huge waste of money. United lost £15.4 million on a player who was hailed as the post-Ferguson era’s powerhouse in the space of a year.

Angel di Maria joined the club in August 2014 for a then-British record of £59.7 million fees from Real Madrid. The Argentine, who was only 26, played a vital role in Real’s 10th European Cup victory the previous season (La Decima).

He had a good start with a goal and an assist in three of his first four games at Old Trafford.

However, he struggled on and off the field around the New Year after being used in six different positions, including central midfield and striker.

He was later sent off in United’s FA Cup quarter-final loss to Arsenal two months later. He didn’t play again until the final game of the season when he was forced to leave after 23 minutes due to a hamstring injury.

After that, he joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he is now playing.

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez. Photo: Eurosport

After all of the excitement surrounding his arrival – remember the #WelcomeAlexis piano video? – his stay at Old Trafford was a complete disappointment.

When he arrived from Arsenal, much was made of the Red Devils’ ability to entice him away from ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City.

On the other hand, City got the last laugh because Sanchez was a complete disaster at Old Trafford.

Five goals in 45 games for £560,000 per week was terrible business on United’s part. During his tenure in the north, he scored every 555 minutes and was injured for 124 days.

He eventually went on a free transfer to Inter Milan in August 2020, but not without United’s £9 million pay-offs.

It could have been worse, as he was entitled to an additional £50 million over the contract’s final two years.

Harry Maguire

Harry Maguire. Manchester United’s captain. Photo: Skysports

Harry Maguire is one of those players who divides opinions. Depending on who you ask, he’s either a good player who a failing club hampers or the worst player ever to wear a football shirt.

The reality is somewhere in the middle, but I believe we can all agree that Manchester United overpaid for Harry Maguire and hasn’t gotten their money’s worth out of him.

Man United paid the most for a defender in football history when they signed him, and while he has been decent for them, he has not been great.

On the other hand, he never looked like he should have been there in the first place.

Maguire will go down in history as a Manchester United flop and a massive one, but it’s not entirely his fault.

He is the same person he has always been. It was the club that raised his expectations to a point where he would never be able to meet them.

Paul Pogba

Pogba has been sidelined due to injuries for four weeks. Photo: Skysports

 Paul Pogba appears to be on his way out of Manchester United this summer, but he will leave a sour legacy.

He’ll be out for four weeks due to injury. Therefore, Man Utd’s season and the contract will end while he’s on the sidelines.

There wasn’t much difference between Harry Maguire’s and Paul Pogba’s salaries, but there was one big difference: Maguire never had the talent to justify his, whereas Pogba did.

When Pogba joined Manchester United, he played brilliant football for Juventus and seemed like a commercial hit. However, it hasn’t worked out.

Pogba will be a player who cost a world-record sum at the peak of his abilities, delivered no Premier League titles (or even came close), and walked out on the club not once but twice.