Manchester United’s Transfer Strategy Under Scrutiny
Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s approach to player recruitment has faced significant criticism. This trend has been further highlighted by a recent report from the CIES Football Observatory, which analyzed the transfer market performance of the world’s smartest clubs since January 2021.
According to the findings, Manchester United are at the bottom of the list, with a negative total balance of £424 million over this period. The club’s overall value balance stands at minus-£359 million, indicating that they have spent heavily on transfers without achieving the desired returns.
The CIES Football Observatory’s analysis focuses on the financial balance sheets of players who were recruited as professionals and permanently transferred to other teams. This means that youth academy signings are excluded from the calculation. The results paint a bleak picture for Manchester United, showcasing their struggles in making profitable transfers.
Top Five Best and Worst Clubs by Value Balance Since 2021
Top Five Best Clubs
- Real Madrid (plus-£511 million)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (plus-£336 million)
- Aston Villa (plus-£234 million)
- Brighton (plus-£223 million)
- Paris Saint-Germain (plus-£220 million)
Top Five Worst Clubs
- Manchester United (minus-£359 million)
- Al-Hilal (minus-£249 million)
- West Ham (minus-£179 million)
- Al-Ahli (minus-£169 million)
- Al-Nassr (minus-£161 million)
Notable transfer flops for Manchester United include Jadon Sancho (£73 million), Antony (£86 million), and Andre Onana (£47.2 million). Their total loss is significantly higher than any other club, with Al-Hilal coming in second with a loss of £249 million.
Al-Hilal’s biggest disappointment was Neymar, who joined from Paris Saint-Germain in a £77.6 million transfer plus add-ons. He was paid £129.2 million per season but left after just 16 months due to an ACL injury sustained while playing for Brazil in October 2023.
Manchester United will face West Ham in a Premier League home match in December. Interestingly, West Ham is the third-worst club in terms of transfer value balance, with a loss of £179 million since January 2021.
West Ham has struggled with signing effective strikers during this period, with Gianluca Scamacca (£30.5 million) and Niclas Fullkrug (£27 million) being two examples of costly misjudgments.
Saudi clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr round out the top five worst performers, with losses of £169 million and £161 million respectively.
Premier League’s Best and Worst Spenders
- Aston Villa: +£233.85 million
- Brighton: +£222.46 million
- Liverpool: +£184.80 million
- Manchester City: +£172.54 million
- Nottingham Forest: +£112.10 million
- Brentford: +£106.85 million
- Crystal Palace: +£93.71 million
- Bournemouth: +£70.07 million
- Chelsea: +£51.67 million
- Sunderland: +£34.16 million
- Tottenham: +£13.14 million
- Fulham: -£7.88 million
- Arsenal: -£27.15 million
- Everton: -£31.53 million
- Burnley: -£49.92 million
- Wolves: -£55.18 million
- Leeds: -£57.80 million
- Newcastle: -£63.06 million
- West Ham: -£178.67 million
- Manchester United: -£357.34 million
Based on CIES’ “Value Balance” metric, Real Madrid leads the list with a value balance of +£511 million. Key signings like Jude Bellingham (£88.5 million) contributed to this success. Additionally, free transfers such as Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe also played a role in their positive balance.
Eintracht Frankfurt is next with a value balance of +£336 million. In the Premier League, Aston Villa and Brighton rank third and fourth with balances of +£234 million and +£223 million respectively.
Paris Saint-Germain rounds out the top five with a value balance of +£220 million. The club has made successful signings such as Desire Doue (£43 million), Ousmane Dembele (£43.5 million), and Nuno Mendes (£34 million).
Manchester United continues to face scrutiny over their transfer strategy, with questions arising about their financial losses, the value of their star signings, and their overall performance despite high spending.