Man Utd’s 14 worst signings under the Glazers – from ‘big baby’ to £85m ‘fidget spinner’

Manchester United have recruited notably poorly over the past decade with the Glazer family giving the go-ahead on several woeful signings, from big money moves to rogue trialists.

Manchester United fans await the fate of their club as talks surrounding the Glazers’ sale rage on.

The Glazer family have spent the best part of 18-years at the helm of England’s most successful football side. What started off as angry fans protesting their takeover in 2005 has only become more toxic in recent years.

Now the American owners are at a crucial stage of negotiations, with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim reportedly leading the race to take over the reins.

Should the Glazers step away completely from United, their legacy will be characterised by success early on, chaos after 2013 and being out of touch with what supporters want. And nothing epitomises that better than the rogue transfers they signed off on throughout the years, stemming from a mish-mash of managers and a vice-chairman beyond his depth.

With the club at a crossroads with their imminent sale and summer transfer window, we take a look back at some of the Glazers’ worst signings over the years.

Antony

Not a single person watched Antony play in his debut 2022/23 season and thought he justified his £85million transfer fee from Ajax. The winger epitomised the Glazers’ wild spending, attracting more attention for his pointless skills than any consistent contribution for Ten Hag’s side – and he’s even been nicknamed ‘fidget spinner’

Harry Maguire

Harry Maguire is not a bad footballer, his importance to Gareth Southgate’s England sides over the past five years proves that. But £80m big Harry was never worth, and the Glazers coughing up the ludicrous sum has only been to the centre-back’s detriment whenever he has dropped a stinker.

Donny van de Beek

Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek was one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s additions, which was even more bizarre given the Norwegian refused to start him. The central-midfielder has been a slam dunk flop, playing just 15 league matches for United over the past two seasons.

Angel Di Maria

The Argentine winger is undoubtedly a legend of the game but his United spell was a failure. Arriving with huge expectation from Real Madrid and a record £60m fee, Di Maria despised the city of Manchester with all of his fibre and had his home burgled before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain after one trophyless season.

Morgan Schneiderlin

The central-midfielder attracted the attention of top Premier League clubs while at Southampton. His performances after a £25m transfer suggested he was a poor fit with United and he was sold to Everton just a year and a half later.