With a total transfer value of 64 million euros, Mason Mount will be the 9th most expensive signing in Man Utd history. Another blockbuster of the Red Devils and many fans are waiting for the first steps of the English midfielder in the upcoming summer tour.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 most expensive contracts in Man Utd history to evaluate the quality and huge money spent on these players:
1) Paul Pogba (105 million euros, 2016/2017 season)
After failing in the Euro 2016 final at home, Paul Pogba was mentioned by the world that summer when he became the most expensive signing in the world when Man Utd decided to spend 105 million euros. to bring him back to the Theater from Juventus. Before that, the Red Devils recruited Ibrahimovic, coach Mourinho and was expected to be very strong when he owned a world-class midfielder like Pogba at that time.
Pogba returned to Man Utd with a lot of expectations. However, in the end, the French midfielder only brought disappointment, along with disparaging words from Red Devils fans.
However, after 6 years until the end of the 2021/2022 season, this is another defeat of Man Utd with Pogba. The French midfielder did not have too many contributions on the pitch, instead, he was constantly injured and “drama” off the pitch with the “assistance” of his agent Mino Raiola. Although Pogba’s level is still shown to some extent, it is still too little compared to the expectations of the Red Devils fans.
Rating: 5/10
2) Antony (95 million euros, season 2022/2023)
Man Utd surprised everyone when spending nearly 100 million euros to recruit Antony from Ajax last summer. A player who was not so excellent in the past but has a very high transfer value, which has brought many questions to Ten Hag and Man Utd.
However, these opinions were somewhat accurate when looking at Antony’s performance last season. 7 goals in 39 appearances is too little compared to the amount of 95 million euros that Man Utd spent. The play of this Brazilian player is considered cumbersome, ineffective and the problem of Man Utd’s right wing has not been resolved.
Antony arrived at Man Utd for a record price but it is clear that his performance last season was really not convincing. He will have to try a lot harder if he does not want to be “lost” at Old Trafford.
Antony still has a lot of time to show himself, but if he continues his form like last season or doesn’t make much progress next season, this will continue to be another bomb for the Reds.
Rating: 5/10
3) Harry Maguire (Euro 80 million, 2019/2020 season)
After impressive performances at Leicester and England, Harry Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender in the summer of 2019 when Man Utd decided to spend 80 million euros to bring him to Old Trafford.
Maguire performed extremely well during the first two seasons of Solsa’s reign, becoming an extremely solid block in front of De Gea’s goal. Being in the Premier League team of the 2019/2020 season and at Euro 2020 proved the class of the English center-back at that time.
Maguire used to be the “steel shield” of Man Utd and England in the period 2019-2021. However, he has fallen dramatically since then and is falling out of favor at Man Utd under Ten Hag
However, Maguire has been falling steadily since the end of the 2020/2021 season when he repeatedly made deplorable mistakes and became a “clown” on social networks. He has lost his starting position since Ten Hag arrived at Man Utd and is likely to leave Old Trafford this summer in search of playing opportunities.
Rating: 6/10
4) Jadon Sancho (80 million euros, 2021/2022 season)
85 million Euro is the amount Man Utd spent to bring Sancho from Dortmund to Old Trafford. However, up to this point, it can be confirmed that this is a failed contract of the Red Devils after what Sancho has shown in the past 2 seasons.
Sancho only really flashed a little at the end of last season or the summer tour, the rest were disappointments. This player does not have many mutations in the two corridors, not physically fit to play 90 minutes. Man Utd really “thrown money out the window” with a salary of £ 350,000 / week, a transfer fee of 80 million euros in exchange for only 11 goals of Sancho after 2 seasons.
Jadon Sancho really disappoints after two seasons at Old Trafford. This player does not have much to contribute, even continuously absent due to injury, clearly this is a bomb from the Red Devils.
Rating: 4/10
5) Romelu Lukaku (84.7 million euros, 2017/2018 season)
In the summer of 2017, Mourinho wanted to find a striker to replace Ibrahimovic and finally he chose Lukaku – a famous striker in the Premier League at that time. The first season was quite favorable for Lukaku when he got 16 goals, making a great contribution to Man Utd’s runner-up position.
By the second season, Lukaku’s clumsiness appeared. In a row, his “clumsy” balls made the fans laugh. With Mourinho and the arrival of Solsa, Lukaku decided to leave in the summer of 2018 to join Inter Milan.
Lukaku has become the focus of “mockery” on social media after his poor performances in his final season at Man Utd. However, before that, it is undeniable that the Belgian striker’s contribution, notably the double against PSG in the Champions League in the historic match of Man Utd in 2019.
Technically, this is not a very failed contract when Lukaku has a total of 37 goals after 2 seasons. He also brought Man Utd 80 million euros from Inter Milan – a rare contract that the Red Devils did not lose too much.
Rating: 5.5/10
It can be seen that in all 5 of the most expensive contracts in Man Utd history, most of them are bombs. The Red Devils have spent nearly half a billion pounds on these players for nearly 10 years now but only in return for disappointment. This is also one of the main reasons why Man Utd has not been able to return to its former position.
However, there are also 2 cases of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. These two players are also in the top 10 most expensive signings in the club’s history and they are a rare case of shining brightly at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro are the two main factors at the Theater and are expected to explode even more next season when Man Utd has more additions this summer.
After most of the bombs, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are the two best signings of Man Utd. These 2 players are really worth every penny that Man Utd has spent on Real Madrid and Sporting LisbonThe negotiation of transfer value when buying and selling players was also greatly reformed by Ten Hag and the leadership when Man Utd was no longer in the lower position, typically the Mason Mount deal with Chelsea recently. It will be a good premise for the Red Devils in the market so that they can bring back the best names without being pressured like before.