It has been almost two years now since former Dutch national team manager Louis van Gaal started his engagement at Manchester United.
Even in this rather short period, van Gaal spent over £270 million on new players, which is more than any other club in Europe. Because of the national and international lack of success, it is believed that Jose Mourinho will replace the Dutchman after this season.
Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that not all of the new players proved to be worth their money. We take a look at some of the Red Devils’ transfer failures.
5. Radamel Falcao (£6 million)
With high expectations, the Colombian superstar was loaned for one year from Monaco at the start of the van Gaal era in 2014. He was supposed to replace Danny Welbeck, who left Manchester towards Arsenal.
However, he was not able to fill the void the English central forward left at all and ended up scoring only 4 goals in 26 matches.
He never seemed as big of a threat as he used to be for Monaco and Atletico. This year he is loaned by Chelsea where he has disappointed just as much and was setback by injuries. He has yet to find back his old form.
4. Ángel Di María (£60 million)
Like Falcao, Di María was one of the first transfers Manchester United completed under van Gaal. He is the single most expensive player any club outside Spain has ever signed and arrived at the back of a combined 37 goals and assists from Champions League winners Real Madrid.
Another parallel to Falcao is that he left Manchester after only one year, though he was not on loan. As a result of weak performances with 4 Goals and 12 assists in 33 appearances, injuries and an unsuccessful year for United, he left the Premier League towards France. He was sold to Paris Saint-Germain for £50million.
