Manchester United’s extravagant spending sprees have been ridiculed by football fans for several years, but a new report has emerged and it paints the Red Devils’ habits in an even worse light.
A study conducted by the CIES Football Observatory, a respect football research group, claims United have overpaid on transfers by an eye-watering $AUD355 million in the space of a decade.
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The Red Devils have splashed $2.37 billion on transfer fees since July 2012, however, CIES estimates the collective market value of all the incomings to be $2.02 billion.
The most notable examples of overspending came in the summer of 2019, with maligned skipper Harry Maguire’s $144 million move from Leicester and right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka arriving from Crystal Palace for $84m sticking out like sore thumbs.
To make matters worse, both defenders face an uncertain future at the club as Maguire has lost his starting place to Raphael Varane and doesn’t look like getting it back anytime soon, while Wan-Bissaka has clocked a grand total of four minutes under new boss Erik ten Hag.
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The worrying trend continued this summer as well in what was the Dutchman’s first transfer window since arriving at Old Trafford.
After an initial $90 million bid for Brazilian winger Antony was rejected by Ajax, United ultimately paid $145 million for his services.
Antony wasn’t the only former Ajax star who forced the Red Devils shelled out more than they planned, as Lisandro Martinez arrived for $96 million — $33 million more than their opening bid for the Argentinian defender.
United weren’t the only Premier League outfit accused of overpaying on transfers.
Aston Villa was named by CIES as the second-worst team when it came to being wise with the cash, overspending by $222 million.
