10 Most Expensive Man Utd Transfer Flops In History
Flop or not?
Right now, it's easy to look at Manchester City and proclaim that they're only where they are because they've spent huge wads of cash.
Of course, having an endless pit of money helps when it comes to having success, but City aren't the only club guilty of splashing the cash in order to try and conquer all in front of them.
Over on the red side of Manchester, and City's famed rivals have never been afraid to pay massive fees in order to get their chosen transfer targets.
To be fair to Manchester United, the huge transfer fees involved for players such as Denis Law, Bryan Robson, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand, and Wayne Rooney all proved to be worth the extensive cost as these players led the Red Devils to plentiful trophies during their time at the Theatre of Dreams.
On the other side of that, however, there are those big-money deals that end up being a painful, desperate flop on a whole host of levels for all involved.
With that in mind, then, we're going to explore ten of the most expensive flops to have ever made their way to the Theatre of Dreams over the years.
10. Marouane Fellaini (£27.5 Million)
With his gangly frame, raw playing style and massive mop of hair, it was easy to use Marouane Fellaini as a scapegoat during his time at Old Trafford.
To be fair to the Belgium international, he didn't actually do all that bad for Manchester United at times. Was he great? No chance. But he wasn't anywhere near as bad as many would have you believe.
Regardless of whether you were a fan of Fellaini's or not during his time at the Theatre of Dreams, one thing that's for certain is that he was a major flop on a financial level.
A David Moyes panic buy in 2013, it took a reported £27.5 million to bring Fellaini from Everton to the Red Devils. That fee in itself was inflated due to Moyes having missed out on a slew of other midfield targets, but what's most alarming for the finances of United is that when Fellaini eventually moved to SD Luneng this February, it was only for a £10.5 million fee.
Still, some Red Devils fans were just happy to have him out of their club - despite the major financial loss United took on the former Standard Liege player.