We all make mistakes, however, when it comes to entering the transfer market, some managers make more than others and these are the ten worst buys that the Red Devils have in the Premier League era….
Top 10 Manchester United players.
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10: Jordi Cruyff
The son of the great Johan, the Dutchman arrived on a wave of publicity in the summer of 1996 from FC Barcelona for a fee of £1.4 million, however, despite remaining at Old Trafford for the duration of his four-year contract, the Netherlands international never managed to truly cut it at the Theatre of Dreams and he left for Alaves in 2000.
9: Alan Smith
Bought from arch-rivals Leeds United following their shock relegation to the Championship in 2004 for £7m, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson hoping the blond-haired English midfield scrapper would eventually take over from legendary club captain Roy Keane in the centre of the park.
But a succession of debilitating injuries, including a terrible broken leg, stymied his progress in the north west and he was eventually offloaded to Newcastle United three years later for £6m.
8: Mark Bosnich
Bought as the successor to the great Peter Schmeichel in the summer of 1999 from Aston Villa, but boss Alex Ferguson then brought in experienced France international Fabian Barthez after doubts began to emerge about the Aussie’s abilities and by the time of the 2000-01 campaign the shot stopper had been relegated to third-choice keeper at Old Trafford, before he joined Chelsea on a free transfer in January 2001.
7: Liam Miller
Signed on a free transfer from Glasgow Celtic in the summer of 2004, the Irish midfield player lasted just two years at the Theatre of Dreams, but found the step up in class just too hard to bridge and after only nine Premier League appearances, Miller was sent on his way to Sunderland in 2006.
6: William Prunier
Balding French centre back who arrived in the north west at the start of the 1995-96 season after buying out his contract with Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux, with Fergie wanting to utilise a continental-style defender in his back four at that time.
However, after a seemingly impressive first-team debut against Queens Park Rangers, the Frenchman then turned in one of the worst defensive displays ever seen in a Red Devils shirt in a 4-1 thrashing at Tottenham Hotspur and he never played another game for the club.
5: Massimo Taibi
Probably the worst goalkeeper the club has ever had, with the flapping Italian lured from Venezia in the summer of 1999 for £4.5m after Denmark international Peter Schmeichel had decided to call it quits at the end of the previous season.
However, after a series of high-profile and costly errors, including one never-to-be forgotten howler against Southampton at Old Trafford, the goalkeeper was soon on his way back to Italy the following summer.
4: Bebe
Portuguese forward who was signed from Vitoria de Guimaraes in the summer of 2010 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of 9 million euros, with the player’s arrival at the Theatre of Dreams being greeted with more than a few raised eyebrows at the time.
And after just two top-flight appearances in his debut campaign at the club, it became abundantly clear that the player was way below the standards required of a United player, and while Bebe is still technically at the club, he has not played for them since, spending loan spells at the likes of Besiktas, Rio Ave and now Pacos de Ferreira.
3: Kleberson
Manchester United had to fight off interest in the highly rated Brazil international from a whole host of big-name European clubs in order to land the Atletico Paranaense midfield player in the summer of 2003 for a fee of £6.5m after the player had shone for his country in the previous year’s World Cup finals.
However, after getting injured in just his second match for the Red Devils, it was downhill pretty much thereafter for Kleberson and two years later after only 20 league appearances and two goals for the club, the Brazilian was on his way to Besitkas for 2.95m euros.
2: Eric Djemba-Djemba
Yet another in the long line of midfield players brought to the Theatre of Dreams as a potential successor for club captain Roy Keane, with the Cameroon international arriving in the north west in the summer of 2003 from Ligue 1 side Nantes for £3.5m.
However, like so many others, the task proved beyond the new recruit and within 18 months he sold to Aston Villa for just £1.5m after 20 league outings for United and no goals.
1: Juan Sebastian Veron
At the time of his purchase, the hugely talented Argentina international became the most expensive player ever in the history of English football after Alex Ferguson splashed out a whopping £28.1m to lure the playmaker from Serie A giants Lazio to Old Trafford in the summer of 2001.
But Veron struggled badly to adapt to the fast-paced nature of the English top flight and after two largely unproductive campaigns in the north west, the player was shipped off to rivals Chelsea for a cut-price fee of just £15m.
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