The five most expensive Man United signings as Mbeumo completes £71m transfer

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The Football Faithful

·22 July 2025

The five most expensive Man United signings as Mbeumo completes £71m transfer

Manchester United are at it again, making expensive signings in the summer transfer window in the hopes of turning their fortunes around.

It’s become a repeated pattern ever since Alex Ferguson retired in 2014; spend big on new players to get them out of their current malaise, see a brief improvement before it all goes Pete Tong again, spend even more money, rinse and repeat.

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This summer, after a dismal campaign that saw them finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table for the first time, they have whipped out the cheque book once more, spending over £133 million on just two players.

Following the arrival of Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5m, Bryan Mbeumo has made the move to Old Trafford from Brentford in a deal worth up to £71m, including £6m in add-ons. That is a lot of money for an attacker who has only reached double digits for goals once in his four seasons in the English top flight. Five of those were penalties, and presumably Bruno Fernandes won’t be giving them up anytime soon.

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Remarkably, Mbeumo does not even crack the list of the five most expensive transfer signings in Manchester United‘s history (he comes a mere seventh). And those above him did not manage to justify their price tags.

Health warning for United fans: this list does not make for pretty reading.

The top five most expensive Manchester United signings ever

5. Jadon Sancho – £73m

Time really does fly by. It’s already been four years since Jadon Sancho joined the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund, and that came after two years of chasing the winger’s signature.

Sancho never recaptured the form that made him such an exciting player for Dortmund, registering just 18 goal involvements in 83 appearances. Following a public fallout with Erik ten Hag, he was sent on loan back to BVB in January 2024, helping the German outfit reach the UEFA Champions League final.

A season-long loan to Chelsea followed, but the Blues reneged on their obligation to buy the England international for £25m, instead preferring to pay a £5m penalty to cancel it. United are now looking to sell the outcast.

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4. Harry Maguire – £80m

Manchester United definitely overpaid for Harry Maguire when they spent £80m to get him from Leicester City in 2019, making him the most expensive defender ever. But in fairness, he has been far from their worst signing over the past decade.

The centre-back enjoyed a solid start to life at Old Trafford, captaining the side to a second-placed finish in the Premier League in 2020/21. But his form went over a cliffside during a difficult period for the team and he was widely mocked by the fanbase and beyond.

Erik ten Hag took the armband off him and relegated him to the bench, but he did eventually find his way back into the lineup and is now a regular in Ruben Amorim’s back three.

Read – Chelsea set staggering price tag for Manchester United target

3. Antony – £85.5m

United paid Ajax £81.3m plus £4.2m in add-ons to reunite Ten Hag with Antony in 2022, which is absolutely incredible when you learn that the club only valued him at £25m when they initially scouted him.

The Brazilian’s transfer is a great illustration of the disarray and lack of cohesion behind the scenes at the club. Who thought it was a good idea to spend so much on a player they themselves didn’t even rate highly?

Unsurprisingly, Antony failed to live up to the fee, providing just 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances in all competitions. Amorim had no place for him in his lineup, so this past January he was sent out on loan to Real Betis, where he put in some decent performances.

United are hoping to recoup at least half of his transfer fee by selling him this summer.

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2. Paul Pogba – £89m

Arguably the most polarising figure in the club’s recent history, Manchester United spent a whopping £89m to buy Paul Pogba from Juventus in 2016; just four years after he left Old Trafford on a free transfer.

The French superstar’s return started out well as he helped Jose Mourinho’s side win the League Cup and Europa League in his first season back. But he was never able to maintain his fitness or a high level of performance over the course of his second stint, putting in the odd dazzling performance without showing true consistency.

Pogba returned to Juventus on another free transfer in 2022.

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1. Romelu Lukaku – £90m

This writer is in the camp that believes Romelu Lukaku has been judged too harshly over the course of most of his career, but it’s difficult to deny that his £75m (plus £15m) move from Everton in 2017 didn’t turn out as hoped.

A strong debut season saw the striker net 27 goals in all competitions, but that dropped to 15 the following term. The fans turned on him, and he was sold to Inter Milan for £73m in 2019. They received a further £4m in sell-on fees when Chelsea bought him in 2021.

One of the few cases where they managed to make most of their money back on an expensive buy.

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