Three worst signings made by Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement

Bengaluru, Nov 24: It has been seven years since Sir Alex Ferguson decided to put his managerial career to an end. The legendary Scotsman left Manchester United on a good note as he brought home their 20th English League title, the 13th in his career with the Red Devils.

But since then, it has been a downward journey for the club as they are yet to add to their 20 League titles. The Red Devils have been managed by three different managers since Ferguson departed but neither of them has been able to bring back the glory days of the club.

During Ferguson's tenure, Manchester United truly dominated English football but it has been a downward trajectory for the club since his retirement and one of the big reasons behind that has been the Red Devils' poor transfer activities. The club never hesitated to spend big money on players but very few of those signings have been able to succeed at Old Trafford. In this article, we will take a look at three worst signings to have been made by Manchester United since Ferguson called his tame.

1. Alexis Sanchez

Without any shadow of argument, Alexis Sanchez has been the biggest flop at Manchester United not only in recent years but also in the entire history of the club. The Chilean superstar used to be one of the best players in the Premier League during his days at Arsenal but could not replicate the same at Old Trafford following his move to Manchester United in a deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the opposite way.

The Chilean looked a shadow of his former Arsenal self, scoring just five goals in 45 appearances during his time at the Theater of Dreams. On top of that, Sanchez earned more than £350,000-per-week at the club and it came in for criticism by many with his signing the principal factor that ruined the wage structure at the club.

2. Angel Di Maria

The player who would give a close contest to Alexis Sanchez for being the biggest flop of all time at Manchester United is Angel Di Maria. Signed from Real Madrid in 2014 for a then British record transfer fee of £59.7 million, Di Maria's arrival was welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful. The Argentinian made an immediate impact at Old Trafford, scoring three goals in his first five games, but failed to net a goal in his further 22 games.

While he ended his only season for the Red Devils with a tally of 11 assists which is not bad, the Argentine made the news for all wrong reasons. Di Maria was not happy with the tactics employed by Louis van Gaal and was not happy with life in England as he did not feel safe after his house broken into by thieves. And eventually, after just a season at Manchester, he successfully pushed for a move to Paris Saint-Germain which made the fans furious.

3. Memphis Depay

Memphis Depay was touted to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo upon his much anticipated arrival from PSV Eindhoven in 2015, but it was soon realized that he was nowhere close to the level of the Portuguese superstar. Depay could never find any kind of consistency at the club and his injury problems made things worse for him.

Sometimes, too much expectation at too little an age can hurt a player's progress and that is what has happened in the Dutchman's case. He was eventually sold to Ligue 1 side Lyon and has managed to rediscover his form and is once again making the headlines with a host of big clubs interested in his signature.