With Manchester United having recklessly splashed the cash over the last ten or so years, the two words “astute transfer dealings” don’t seem to belong together.
Now that Erik ten Hag is in charge of the most expensively assembled team in Europe—almost £1 billion—the Old Trafford team is no closer to catching up to its treble-winning rivals, Manchester City. It has been ten years since the club last won a Premier League title.
Perhaps even more annoying than United’s haphazard approach to transfers is the fact that the club’s management turned down several players who would have helped them develop into stars only to have to watch them succeed elsewhere.
Erling Haaland, a Norwegian dynamo who is currently leading Pep Guardiola’s City team to devastating effect after scoring 52 goals in his debut season last time around, was nearly impossible to sign for under £4 million during his time at Molde. This was the most obvious proof of that fact.
Benjamin Sesko, another striker, was also the subject of these problems. It has been stated that in 2019, United considered the Slovenian’s £2.5 million fee to be “excessive.” However, the 20-year-old only recently completed a £55 million transfer to RB Leipzig.
Premier League (Premier League) Erik Ten Hag
The followers of those two examples will probably be pulling their hair out, but the most frustrating example of a player who slipped away is perhaps World Cup winner and superstar Kylian Mbappe, as the Red Devils haven’t scored while the iron was out recently.
Did Manchester United wish to get Kylian Mbappe?
Despite the fact that such reports should occasionally be treated with a grain of salt, it seems that the brilliant Frenchman piqued the curiosity of those at the Theatre of Dreams, given his bright career start with AS Monaco.
The Welshman reportedly suggested that United try to sign the teenager and Gabriel Jesus, who is currently playing for Arsenal, according to club icon Ryan Giggs. At the time, the two players were probably only worth £5 million apiece.
According to the Times, the 13-time champion said: “I watched Mbappe in action. As I observed him and Gabriel Jesus with the head scout, it seemed obvious. It was like, “Grab them.” The recruitment should have been better there, as it would have cost about £5 million to acquire them and loan them back.
“A Manchester United player is what I know.”
It is likely irreversible for the Premier League heavyweights to have missed the chance to recruit the striker’s compatriot, given that United famously spent an initial £36 million to get Anthony Martial from the Ligue 1 team back in 2016.
And why did Man United not sign Mbappe?
In the summer of 2017, The Guardian reported that Jose Mourinho and company had made a £72 million attempt to wrest the then-18-year-old from Stade Louis II. This further highlighted United’s failure to sign the talented forward for such a little sum of money.
The Parisian native had a breakout season in 2016–17, scoring 15 goals and dishing out 11 assists in just 29 Ligue 1 games as Monaco won the championship. This bid, however, was eventually fruitless.
But it was on the European scene that a teenage Mbappe made his real breakthrough, as he scored six goals in just nine Champions League games that season, famously wearing down Man City with a goal both at home and away against Guardiola’s team in the round of 16.
Monaco was able to comfortably withstand Manchester United’s £72 million proposal, since the selling club had been requesting more than £100 million at the time, thanks to the player’s rapid start to his senior career.
The quick-witted player did, in fact, leave during that same window on a first loan move, joining Paris Saint-Germain instead, where he would have to pay an outrageous £165 million to make the move permanent, effectively squashing any opposition interest.
Now, how much is Mbappe worth?
Since moving to the Parc des Princes, the 24-year-old has experienced spectacular success. Rio Mavuba, a fellow countryman, has called him a “unstoppable” talent. In just 264 games with his current team, he has scored 219 goals and provided 98 assists.
The 5 foot 10 wizard, who still yearns for the elusive Champions League title, has been a dominant force both domestically and internationally and is arguably the “best player in the world” when playing at his best, according to Mavuba.
Goals for Career League
By way of Transfermarkt, Kylian Mbappe
Transfermarkt through Marcus Rashford
2015–2016
One
Five
2016–17.
15.
Five
2017–18
13.
(7)
2018–19;
33.
Ten
2019–20
Eighteen
17.
2020–21
27,
11.
20,21, 22
28,
Four
twenty-two or twenty-three
29,
17.
2023/24 *
(7)
One
Overall
171.
77%
Despite his relative youth, the former Bondy youth asset is now captain of his country and has scored 40 goals in just 71 appearances for Les Bleus. He was also a key player in helping his team qualify for the last two World Cups.
With a memorable goal in the 4-2 thumping of Croatia in 2018, the dynamic wideman made history in Russia by being the youngest player to score in the tournament’s championship match since the legendary Pele of Brazil back in 1958.
The PSG star then reached even greater heights in Qatar the previous year, having scored eight goals overall in the competition, including an incredible hat-trick in the championship match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina team that helped send the game into overtime.
Mbappe once again demonstrated why he may be the next big thing in football, standing among players like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, even if the South American team won the subsequent penalty shootout.
Given his talent, a substantial premium is warranted. Al Hilal, of Saudi Arabia, has made an offer of £259 million for the player, which is a remarkable 5080% rise over the £5 million that United was reportedly able to sign him for years earlier.
The move to Real Madrid appears to be the most likely option, guaranteeing that Mbappe will likely stay ‘one that got away’ for the Red Devils. Ten Hag’s team may still harbour dreams of acquiring the £1.1 million-per-week asset when his present deal expires in the summer that follows.
