Man Utd have made transfer profit on FOUR players in 10 years

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 22 Apr 2023 21:35 BST
• 4 min read

If ever any evidence of the Glazer's mismanagement of Manchester United was needed, consider the fact that they have made a transfer profit on just four players since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

United have been on the market for a number of months now, with Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe - one of the UK's richest men - having thus far come closest to matching the American family's £6 billion valuation.

Recent reports suggest that the Glazers would now prefer a minority investment, with American asset management giants The Carlyle Group the latest to offer the family a way to continued ownership.

READ: Watch out Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim: Man Utd's new bidder

But the idea of yet more Glazer rule is anathema to many a Red Devil - Old Trafford has fallen into a state of disrepair and the record English champions are without a top-flight title in a decade since Sir Alex Ferguson's final triumph in 2013.

Man Utd remain perhaps the most valuable brand in all of sport, but that has been despite the Glazers' running of the club, not because of it, with United's transfer business over the last 10 years throwing that fact into even sharper focus.

— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) April 22, 2023

United have made a profit on just four players in the last decade (from oldest to most recent): Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (£1 million), Daley Blind (£300,000), Chris Smalling (£8.1m) and Dan James (£10m).

READ: Man Utd's 10 biggest transfer sale mistakes

Transfer market disasters

At the other end of the scale is perhaps the worst bit of transfer business of all time - Paul Pogba, who has twice left for Juventus on a free transfer either side of being brought back to the club for a then world record £100m (€110m) in 2016.

Under Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a club record €94m having been bought for €19m. Post-Ferguson, Ronaldo returned for €17m before leaving for Al-Nassr on a free last winter after giving an unsanctioned interview - and some home truths - to Piers Morgan.

David Beckham, an academy graduate who cost nothing, left for Madrid for €37.5m in 2004, and even Jaap Stam, whom Ferguson credits as his biggest transfer mistake, still left for Lazio for €27.75m having been bought for €17m.

Ferguson's biggest loss was on Juan Sebastian Veron - bought for €42.6m and sold to Chelsea two years later for €21.5m - but that's nothing on Pogba or Ronaldo in the years since.

For United's profit on the aforementioned four players to only amount to £18.5m is something the next owners will have to address. United fans can only hope they are given the chance.