Manchester Football Club is not only one of the most storied football clubs in the world game, but the Red Devils have also established themselves as an international brand in recent decades.
The men from Manchester have continually strived to improve their squad by spending big in the transfer market. Here are the ten most expensive signings in the history of Manchester United:
Paul Pogba (Joined from Juventus for a fee of £94.5m)
The French international returned to Old Trafford for a club-record fee in 2016 after a highly successful stint in Turin with the Bianconeri. The midfielder had previously been with the Red Devils as a youngster but left in order to seek out first-team opportunities.
He found that first-team action at Juventus and came back a more accomplished player. Unfortunately, for the Red Devils, despite undoubted talent, Pogba blew hot and cold in a United shirt.
The mercurial midfielder shined bright for his international team in central midfield and played a major role in Les Bleus’ World Cup triumph in 2018. After six inconsistent seasons with United, Pogba returned to Manchester in the summer transfer window of 2022, once again moving as a free agent.
Antony (Joined from Ajax for a fee of £85.5m)
The youngster joined Manchester United from Ajax for a fee in the region of £85.5m in the summer of 2022. The Brazilian international established himself as one of the world game’s most promising young attacking players in Amsterdam.
The winger is regarded as a skilful, pacey winger who can score and assist goals. Question marks remain over the big fee, though, as Antony is still young and still needs to find greater consistency in his game.
Harry Maguire (Joined from Leicester for a fee of £78.3m)
The England international joined United in 2019 from Leicester for a world-record fee for a defender. At the time, he was regarded as a Rolls Royce of a defender, who some saw as one of the best young centre-backs in Europe.
The defender made a solid start to his time at United and earned the captaincy within his first half season at the club. For his first two seasons in Manchester, Maguire produced strong displays at the heart of the United backline.
However, like United as a whole in season 2021/22, the defender’s form dipped. The 29-year-old found himself benched at the start of the 2022/23 campaign by head coach Erik ten Hag.
Jadon Sancho (Joined from Dortmund for a fee of £76.5m)
The England international joined United in the summer of 2021, the winger was one of the brightest young players in the world. The youngster had scored 50 goals and produced 64 assists in 137 appearances for BVB.
A move back to England looked inevitable at some point. However, the move back to his homeland didn’t prove to be a massive success in his debut campaign in the English top flight. An underwhelming return of three Premier League goals and three assists was undoubtedly not what everybody associated with Manchester United was expecting from their talented new signing.
The 2022/23 season looks to offer a more fruitful campaign for Sancho, and he could still live up to his big price tag in the future.
Romelu Lukaku (Joined from Everton for a fee of £76.23m)
The Belgian forward arrived with a big reputation for scoring goals in 2017. He had terrorised Premier League defences with United’s north west rivals Everton, scoring 87 goals and producing 29 assists in 166 appearances.
The then-24-year-old looked to be a stellar signing. However, the Belgian international failed to hit the same heights at United as he did with the Toffees. His two Premier League campaigns yielded 16 and 12 goals, respectively.
United were not at their best during the two seasons, but Lukaku seemed to bear the brunt of the criticism due to his big price tag. After two relatively unsuccessful seasons at Old Trafford, Lukaku left for Italian giants Inter for a fee of £66.6m. Lukaku went on to rediscover his scoring touch before a return to the English top-flight in 2021 with Chelsea, only to re-join Inter on loan in the summer of 2022.
Angel Di Maria (Joined from Real Madrid for a fee of £67.5m)
The Argentinian international was a key figure for Spanish giants Real Madrid before making his big-money move in 2014. Di Maria had produced an incredible 85 assists in 190 games for Los Blancos.
He was expected to bring flair and creativity to the United team. Di Maria never really settled at United, despite producing a respective 12 assists in 32 appearances and in 2015, he joined French giants PSG for a fee of around £56m.
Casemiro (Joined from Real Madrid for a fee of £63.59m)
The 30-year-old Brazilian international joined United in the summer of 2022 from Real Madrid for a fee of £63.59m. The midfielder had been the cornerstone of Los Blancos’ team for seven years, doing the dirty work in the centre of the park so the more technically gifted players could shine.
Despite question marks over the fee for a player his age, Casemiro brings vast experience to a United team that arguably needed more quality in the central midfield areas.
Bruno Fernandes (Joined from Sporting CP for a fee of £56.7m)
The Portuguese international joined United from Sporting CP in 2020 for a fee of £56.7m. The attacking midfielder has been a roaring success since his arrival, scoring 63 goals and producing a further 50 assists in 137 games for United.
The attacking midfielder continues to be a crucial player for United in the 2022/23 season, and he will undoubtedly add to his highly respectable goals and assists tally.
Anthony Martial (Joined from Monaco for a fee of £54m)
In 2015, Martial arrived at United from Monaco with a big reputation for a big fee. At 19, some were calling Martial ‘The next Thierry Henry’ because of his playing position and the fact that he made his name at Monaco.
However, Martial has never been able to find much consistency during his time at Old Trafford. Despite a seemingly underwhelming United career so far, the France international has scored 79 goals and produced 51 assists in his Red Devils career. However, those numbers have been recorded in 270 appearances for United over seven years.
Fred (Joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of £53.1m)
The Brazilian international arrived in Manchester in 2018 from Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £53.1m. The midfielder has gone on to establish himself as a mainstay in the centre of midfield for the Red Devils.