£360m wasted - the 10 biggest transfer flops Man United and Ineos must avoid repeating

Manchester United's recruitment has been awful in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Now that the transfer window has reopened and there is a new regime in town, the mistakes of the past must be avoided.

"What’s happened is, we have burned through cash," former United CEO Richard Arnold said (along with an expletive) in 2022 when meeting fans for an impromptu chat in a beer garden.

Arnold wasn't wrong - United have spent over £1billion on transfers over the last decade and they haven't come close to winning the Premier League title.

The scattergun transfer strategy is one of the main reasons for United's decline and there have been various transfer flops. It's a strategy that the new regime at Old Trafford, headed up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, are keen to avoid. Ratcliffe, speaking a few years ago, called United's recruitment 'shockingly poor'.

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"[Ineos] never wants to be the dumb money in town, never," Ratcliffe said. So here are 10 of some of the biggest transfer flops United have signed that probably fit that bill.

Antony (£86m)

Antony was signed in a deal worth £86m from Ajax in Erik ten Hag's first summer in charge. The Dutchman pushed hard to sign the winger, who he worked with at the Amsterdam Arena, and United agreed to a deal despite Ajax's valuation increasing throughout the window.

The Brazilian still has time to turn around his career at the club, but considering the fee invested to sign him, he's been an awful transfer and must improve next season.

Antony contributed just one goal and one assist in the whole of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

Alexis Sanchez (swap deal)

Alexis Sanchez was signed from Arsenal in a straight swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, so he didn't cost a transfer fee, but he earned astronomical wages during his time at Old Trafford.

The Chilean scored five goals and recorded nine assists in 45 appearances and failed to produce the form he did at Arsenal, which saw him excel in the Premier League.

Sanchez was the highest-paid player in the Premier League and it's thought he earned £560,000 per week. He joined Inter Milan on loan in 2019 and later signed permanently.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£30m)

Mkhitaryan was used in the swap deal for Sanchez and was a transfer flop himself at United. His performances for Borussia Dortmund were excellent and United paid £30m to lure him to Manchester, but he struggled in the Premier League and was soon axed from the starting XI.

The Armenia international's relationship with Jose Mourinho broke down and he was used as a makeweight in the deal to sign Sanchez.

Bebe (£7.4m)

Sir Alex Ferguson hadn't seen Bebe play before finalising a £7million deal to sign him, and when the winger did get a game for United, he was a major disappointment.

He made just seven appearances for United before leaving in 2014 to join Benfica. Bebe is now 33 and stunned United fans in January when representing Cape Verde at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Donny van de Beek (£35m)

Donny van de Beek was a Ballon d'Or nominee in 2019 after his influential role in Ajax's domestic double triumph and progression to the Champions League semi-finals.

Just a year later, his arrival at United for £35m was considered a coup, but his time at the club has been a disaster and his recent loan with Eintracht Frankfurt didn't work out.

Van de Beek's nightmare continued at Eintracht - he was left out of their European squad shortly after signing - and he's under contract at United until 2025.

Memphis Depay (£31m)

There was excitement when United signed Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth £31m in 2015, but he never fulfilled his potential in two years at the club.

After the departure of Angel Di Maria, Depay took the famous No.7 shirt - previously worn by George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. He struggled with the weight of that shirt at Old Trafford and eventually signed for Lyon in January 2017.

Morgan Schneiderlin (£25m)

Morgan Schneiderlin signed from Southampton in 2015, arriving for a fee in the region of £25m, but he became 'lost' as a player under the demands of Louis van Gaal.

"I was too affected by what Louis van Gaal was asking from me," he said last year. "I lost me as a player. It was not me on the field. It was not just the manager's fault, it was my fault, too.

"My role was not the one I had at Southampton. I felt restricted. I felt they wanted to change things in me. I was not thinking as me, I was thinking about what pleased the coach."

The midfielder joined Everton in 2017 and had stints with Nice, Western Sydney Wanderers, Konyaspor and A.E. Kifisia after his time at Goodison Park.

Paul Pogba (£89m)

Pogba seemed to have the world at his feet when he re-signed for United in 2016 for a then-world-record transfer fee of £89million. He'd established himself as one of Europe's finest midfielders during his Juventus stint and his return to Manchester dominated global headlines.

But Pogba left United on a free transfer in 2022, 10 years after he last left the club as a free agent, having won just the Europa League and the League Cup in six years.

The Frenchman was supremely talented and should have achieved more with United.

Radamel Falcao (£6.8m loan fee)

Although Radamel Falcao is the only loan player included on this list, he had to be included because United paid Monaco £6.8m to sign him on a season-long deal.

"When a player of this calibre becomes available, it is an opportunity not to be missed," said then-United manager Van Gaal of Falcao in September 2014.

However, Falcao only managed to score four goals in 29 appearances and Chelsea decided to give him a chance the following season, despite flopping at United.

He was a disappointing signing for United and scored just once at Stamford Bridge.

Angel Di Maria (£60m)

Di Maria appeared to shout 'eff off' to a section of home fans at Old Trafford after Paris Saint-Germain's opener in the first knockout round of the Champions League in February 2019.

Di Maria was booed with every touch of the ball that night, as he returned for the first time since he departed the club in 2015. He received a hostile reception and was targeted by a bottle in the second half as he went to take a corner.

United signed him for a British record transfer fee of £59.7million in the summer of 2014 but he flopped, just like the other players on the list.