There's an argument to be made that the Manchester United "banter era" is not only ongoing, but that it has reached its pinnacle this season.
Despite the hope brought last season by the appointment of Erik Ten Hag as boss, United's fortunes have plummeted this season. With the team already out of the Champions League, and looking miles off the European places in the Premier League, questions are rightfully being asked of the manager and players.
In truth, Ten Hag has made multiple missteps with his signings, and they only add to what has been a growing trend over the past decade.
United have developed a reputation since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013 as being completely out of their depth in the transfer market - and it's a fully deserved reputation.
With the news of Jadon Sancho's imminent loan return to Borussia Dortmund, we've decided to count down the ten worst signings Manchester United have made in the time since Alex Ferguson's departure as manager.
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The 10 worst signings of the ongoing Manchester United banter era
Honourable mentions: Romelu Lukaku left Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, with public fallouts with the club and teammate Luke Shaw casting a shadow over a period in Manchester dotted with intermittent brilliance; Marouane Fellaini was never a Manchester United-standard player, and cost far too much, but he did contribute to some big wins in some dark periods for the Red Devils; Victor Valdes' time at Old Trafford was hilarious in every way, but he didn't make enough of an impact in any area to make this list; Memphis Depay simply faded into obscurity during his time with United, rather than be particularly especially bad.
When this piece was originally written in 2022, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka both featured - they have since proven their resolve to turn things around and be two of the club's only strong performers this season.
10. Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger training with the German national team (Photo: Sportsfile)
A curious one. Schweinsteiger was by no means poor when he played for United, and had some pretty solid performances in midfield when he did play during the 2015-16 season.
That's the main issue - the German legend barely played during his two years in Manchester, and he was pretty well frozen out by Jose Mourinho when he took over in 2016. Schweinsteiger was signed for only £8.1m, so he at least didn't cost Manchester United too much outlay but, given his reputation and how he was expected to elevate the midfield, his relative mediocrity was a massive disappointment.
This one is certainly elevated by the quality of the player, and how poor he was in comparison to how brilliant he had previously been for Bayern Munich and Germany.
9. Morgan Schneiderlin
Morgan Schneiderlin being unveiled as a Manchester United player (Photo: Manchester United)
When was the last time you thought about Morgan Schneiderlin? When was the last time you heard of him? The second part of the doomed "Schmidfield" signed in the summer of 2015, Schneiderlin arrived from that great Southampton team that included Sadio Mané, Dusan Tadic, Toby Alderweireld, and Graziano Pellé. Though that quartet would have their career peaks after leaving St Mary's, Schneiderlin's hit a death sentence with his move to Old Trafford.
He was unreliable in midfield and only lasted two years at Old Trafford before moving on to Everton, where he was similarly underwhelming. It's a shame that the move didn't work out for the Frenchman at such a young stage in his career, but it's also hard to think of a player who dropped off in quality during their time at Old Trafford as much as Schneiderlin did.
8. Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao playing for Porto in the 2011 Europa League final for Porto (Photo: Sportsfile)
Maybe the weirdest of all the signings in this list. When he arrived on loan from Monaco in 2014, Falcao was one of the hottest prospects in world football. Scorer in two successive Europa League final wins for two different clubs (Porto in 2011 and Atletico Madrid in 2012), and a crucial part of a rising Colombia side, he was undoubtedly one of the best strikers in Europe.
His deadline-day arrival was a taste of the chaotic ill-advised last-minute deals that have come to define Manchester United in the transfer market. He underperformed dramatically in his only season at United, scoring a measly four goals all season, and forcing established strikers Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez to sit out games.
He had plenty of passion, and seemed to love playing for United - but Falcao's spell can't be classed as anything other than a failure. Easily forgotten is that he spent an even worse period on loan at rivals Chelsea the following season.
7. Donny van de Beek
Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek (Photo: Sportsfile)
A remarkable failure, who has now left for his second (and presumably final) loan spell since his unexpected arrival in 2020.
Van de Beek arrived from Ajax for £35m ahead of the 2020-21 season with an exciting reputation, with the Dutch midfielder expected to plug the gap in the centre of the field for United. It hasn't worked out that way for Donny, and he's found himself ostracised under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick, and now even his Ajax mentor Erik Ten Hag in his three years with the club.
The Dutchman's career at Manchester United appears to be over, with little to no fanfare or disappointment from fans of the club to see him depart, after a dramatic fall from grace.
6. Angel di Maria
Angel di Maria in a post-match interview during his time at Manchester United (Photo: Sky Sports)
The first true "glamour" signing made by Manchester United post-Ferguson also turned out to be the first big-money flop. Angel di Maria did, admittedly, run into personal issues which affected his stay in Manchester, and so his poor form can be explained somewhat by that.
But, signed for £67.9m, di Maria contributed very little to United, and his fallout with the club and departure occurred in a rather unpleasant atmosphere.
He has continued to hold a frosty relationship with the club, clashing with fans on returning with PSG in 2019, and remains an unpopular figure among fans.
The only saving grace here is that United recouped £56.7m from PSG when they shipped him off just one year after he had signed.
5. Paul Pogba
Frenchman Paul Pogba departed Manchester United for a second time this summer (Photo: Shutterstock)
A funny one, Paul Pogba. A team of the season contender in 2018-19, a scorer in the final in United's last trophy win (the 2017 Europa League final), and a World Cup winner during his time at the club.
And yet, there has seldom been a more divisive player in the Premier League. Pogba had an infamously icy relationship with José Mourinho, dipped in an out of form at will, and spent much of his second spell in Manchester on the sidelines through injury. In the summer of 2022, he left the club and returned to Juventus.
Simply put, for £94.5m, you'd expect more than flashes of brilliance and one or two big goals from Pogba. He departed United as a youth prospect for free, returned for a world record fee, and departed once again for free with the club having regressed since his arrival.
It's an indictment for Pogba that Bruno Fernandes arrived for just over half the price and has made twice the impact.
4. Antony
The most recent of all the ten names on this list, and a rapid climber at that.
Antony is somewhat emblematic of the attacking issues Manchester United have suffered during Erik Ten Hag's reign, with his chronic one-footedness and inability to take on any left-back he comes up against stunting virtually any attack he has been a part of.
Sure, he scored big goals against Arsenal and Barcelona during his first season - but other than that, Antony's contributions have been near nil, and have at times actively hindered the United attack. Group that in with his scarcely believable €95 million transfer fee and his poor temperament on the pitch, and Antony is well on his way to #1 in this list if given the time.
3. Jadon Sancho
Of all the players on this list, Jadon Sancho was undoubtedly the one that Manchester United spent the most time scouting and pursuing, and it was crystal clear how much they wanted him to sign for the club in both the summers of 2020 and 2021.
He did ultimately sign in '21 for an enormous €85 million as one of the most highly-rated and exciting young wingers in Europe. But, after making less than 100 appearances and contributing to only 18 goals in his two-and-a-half years at United, Sancho is now set to return to Borussia Dortmund on loan, with most fans and pundits agreeing it is the right move for both parties.
Sancho features so highly on this list as his downfall was exacerbated by publicly slamming his own coach after his work-rate was (mildly) questioned earlier this season. His alleged refusal to apologise was seemingly the reason for his isolation from the first-team squad, and appears to have accelerated his departure.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Reasonable arguments for this to be number one (and we'll get to them) but, as a player, Cristiano Ronaldo most definitely performed to a higher level than any player on this list bar perhaps Paul Pogba (at points) during his second spell at Manchester United.
Ronaldo returned late in the summer of 2021 as a foil to Manchester City's plans to sign the United legend and enjoyed a strong individual season, notching up 18 Premier League goals at the age of 36.
Much of that individual success, however, appeared to come at the expense of the overall game plan, as the club endured their worst season in years in 2021-22. By the summer, Ronaldo wanted out, after both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick failed to get the squad clicking around him.
Erik Ten Hag wanted nothing to do with the Portuguese striker - but neither did any other club in Europe, so Ronaldo stayed. He would go on to walk out early from a Premier League game against Spurs after refusing to be subbed on, before an explosive interview with Piers Morgan saw him slam the club, his manager, and former teammates - and saw his contract terminated.
Manchester United fans had dreamed of Ronaldo's return for so long, and there were some memorable moments - but, with hindsight, the decision to bring the club legend back ultimately tarnished many fans' memories.
1. Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez is the biggest flop of Manchester United's banter era (Photo: Manchester United)
No longer as clearcut a choice at number one, but it's still hard to see past how simply abysmal Alexis Sanchez's time at Old Trafford was.
Not only did Alexis Sanchez sign as one of the league's best wingers and immediately drop off a cliff in quality, but he did so at the least opportune time.
When he signed in January 2018, the club were locked in their only title race of the post-Ferguson era but were in a particularly poor run of form. The only player playing well was winger Anthony Martial - so, naturally, United invested in a direct replacement for Martial, dropping him out of the team and signalling a complete drop-off in performance that ultimately saw them finish 19 points off league winners City.
Sanchez contributed next to nothing to United under Mourinho or Solskjaer, scoring just five goals in 45 appearances. The highlight of his stay was an injury-time winner against Newcastle in October 2018. Just 18 months after signing, Sanchez was ejected to Inter Milan alongside Romelu Lukaku.
The arrival of Chilean winger Sanchez also signalled a trend of United signing players reportedly linked with rivals Manchester City - a tactic that would bring mixed results once again with the moves for Fred, Harry Maguire, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
And, if that wasn't bad enough, there was also his announcement video...
🎹 Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Introducing #Alexis7…#GGMU #MUFC @Alexis_Sanchez pic.twitter.com/t9RIIx4mE4
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 22, 2018
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