In 2021, Raphaël Varane decided to step out of his comfort zone by leaving Real Madrid for Manchester United. A respectable choice since the challenge of bringing United back to where they belong is exciting for any ambitious footballer. Except that currently, Varane is in trouble. This context around the 2018 World Champion and Manchester United is the perfect opportunity to review the case of these players who destroyed their careers by making a deal with the Red Devils.
They flopped before rebounding
Angel Di Maria, the casting error
Summer 2014, Manchester United offered a record offer of 75 million euros to Real Madrid and a salary multiplied by two to Angel Di Maria. The Argentinian commits for 5 years, there are 11 months left, not one more.
Di Maria at United is the perfect definition of industrial disaster. All the ingredients of the flop come together in a few weeks: the coach who cannot find the formula, a blatant homesickness, including a winter injury. The player does not adapt!
Then came January 31, 2015, the last straw. It is 7:30 p.m., Di Maria is at home with his family after beating Leicester at Old Trafford when individuals with iron bars try to enter his mansion. The alarm scares away the burglars but the psychological damage is done…
Jorgelina Cardoso, Di Maria’s wife who was already homesick, couldn’t take it anymore… In August 2015, Fideo signed with PSG for 5 years, he would stay 7 years in total with all the success we know about him and this , despite a burglary!
Alexis Sanchez, a bad feeling
January 2018, Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan cross paths during an astonishing exchange. The Chilean goes from Arsenal to United, the Armenian goes the opposite way. Financially, the Chilean is making a big splash. At the time, he became the highest paid player in the Premier League with a salary of €440,000 per week! Excluding bonuses. Except that the Sanchez – United relationship will never work.
From the start, the former Barça man felt that it wasn’t going to work! “During my first training, I realized a lot of thingshe confided in 2020 on his Instagram account. When I got home, I asked my agents: “Can we end the contract and go back to Arsenal?” They laughed and I told them something was wrong, but it was already signed.”
The real Sanchez never arrived at United. He no longer makes the differences he once did. The Chile international explained that he had lost confidence under Mourinho’s management. His successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will also say that he can do nothing for him. That he must find himself.
For United, Sanchez will have been a financial pit, he will have cost nearly €73 million according to the English press! The Chilean will recover his health at Inter by winning Serie A with Antonio Conte.
They sank
Paul Pogba, the hype that makes you sputter
Pogba’s transfer from Juventus to Manchester United, for 105 million euros, was to be THE BONUS of his career… The hype is maximum but will never materialize. Pogba and Manchester United, it’s a bit of a series with mini-series inside and each mini-series has its share of twists and turns!
Suddenly things are going pretty well, especially before and after the 2018 World Cup. Even if in that season, there was a big disagreement with José Mourinho, who called into question his status and his professionalism…
There were injury seasons too, the 2019-2020 season, with his painful ankle and the one after with a long covid which deprived him of his full physical fitness. Finally there is Pogba’s last season at United, during which he suffered two major injuries to his ischio and calf, without any major impact there again…
There hype became indifferent. United decides not to renew his contract and the World Champion joins Juventus free in the summer of 2022. Since then, things have not been much better since La Pioche is no longer on the field and he is even fighting to prove his innocence to a positive test for testosterone.
Donny van de Beek, without the slightest effort
Remember, Ajax of 2018-2019, the team that brought down Real Madrid and Juventus… Donny van de Beek was one of the great architects! Ajax let De Jong and De Ligt leave at the end of the latter but not van de Beek, who only joined United in September 2020.
He made his debut at Old Trafford a few days later and scored. And… that’s it, really. That’s expensive for €40M. So ok Van de Beek is not necessarily aligned in his preferred position, ok he has little playing time… But United fans agree that he has not necessarily done everything to reverse the trend…
He’s in the cellar and Lorient wanted to get him out this summer! He made it clear that it wasn’t good enough for him, until the transfer window closed when he finally told them: “Well, actually I want to.” Lorient left him in sight. Too late.
Find our full selection of 8 players in the video above.
