When it rains it pours at Old Trafford, and not just through the leaky roof. 

The beleaguered club, facing a managerial nightmare, dressing room unrest and unprecedented fan fury at the board and owners – have now been named the worst transfer operators in Europe over the past five years. 

Stats boffins at CIES Football Observatory have put the business of hundreds of clubs around the world under the microscope. 

And the findings make for grim reading for United, who are the lowest ranked European team having lost £334m since 2022. 

Only big-spending Saudi side Al-Hilal are below the Red Devils in the overall standings. 

The data compiled by CIES ranks every team in world football who have spent more than £42m on transfer fees since 2021, including add-ons. 

Antony (left) and Rasmus Hojlund (right) were both sold for a massive loss by Man United – who rank as the worst transfer operators in Europe 

They then calculated the balance between fees paid to sign players and money received for selling (loans do not count). And the value of players still owned by the club is also taken into account. 

A high ranking in the list points to a shrewd, well-run transfer strategy and teams lower down have conducted poor business. 

In Man United’s case, they have lost approximately £156m from player sales and the value of players in under-fire Michael Carrick’s squad decreased by a further £184m. 

It doesn’t take long to understand how these gruesome numbers came to be. United splashed out £85m on Antony from Ajax in 2022 and he left for only £21.7m to Real Betis.   

Jadon Sancho arrived to much fanfare from Borussia Dortmund, costing the club £73m. They did not recoup any fee and he remains a free agent. 

Rasmus Hojlund came for £72m in 2023 and later signed for Napoli for a £34m loss. 

Andre Onana (£47m), Mason Mount (£60m) and Joshua Zirkzee (£36m) remain on the books but have struggled to make an impact. 

The CIES study is a damning indictment of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, who have run football operations since buying a stake in the club 

Zirkzee was the only one of those players signed by Ineos, who took over the day-to-day running of football operations in 2024, and have since tried to stem the club’s losses. Club insiders have pointed to the fact that the CIES data shows that United’s poor recruitment has improved.

As well as offloading high earners like Casemiro and Sancho, United have taken a more pragmatic approach to transfers under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Last summer, the club abandoned any attempt to sign Elliot Anderson once it became clear that his valuation had rocketed beyond the £100m mark, and refused to get into a bidding war with Tottenham over Mateus Fernandes.

In the end, United spent a total of £163m on Carlos Baleba, Andrey, Santos, Youri Tielemans and Tynan Thompson. It followed an outlay of £239m in 2025 on Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Senne Lammens. 

The figures demonstrate the challenge clubs face in not only recouping transfer fees, but also correctly identifying the right players at the right prices in recruitment. 

At the very top of the list, Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt boast an increase in value of approximately £441m.

Real Madrid are behind them with £440m, while Champions League holders PSG sit in third on £394m.

Manchester City are among the top performers – in fifth just behind Benfica – with an increase in value of around £374m, although there is clearly the enormous caveat that they have been found guilty of breaking financial rules between 2009 and 2018, a period that provided the foundation for the five years studied by CIES. 

Man United are not the only Premier League side with a dreadful recent record in the market. 

Tottenham’s total value went down by £157m and the value of their players has dropped by £195m. Richarlison signing from Everton in 2022 for £60m and Dominic Solanke’s £65m addition are two significant outlays that have failed to deliver. 

It remains to be seen how Spurs’ massive summer outlay on Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke and Co will age but Spurs are ranked fourth last on the entire CIES list. 

Brighton are among the best performing club in terms of transfer strategy 

Leicester City, now languishing in League One, have seen a decrease of £73m, while relegated West Ham depreciated by £63m. 

Unsurprisingly, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford, often heralded for being among the best-run clubs, ranked highly with gains of £292m, £271m and £253m respectively.

Liverpool, who lost Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate at the end of their contracts and have broken the £100m barrier on three players in two years, barely broke even with a value change of £13m.

Chelsea, despite spending approaching £2bn, have sold well and are up £179m in value change over the time frame. Nottingham Forest are another side who have been extremely busy in the market and have a rise of the same amount as the Blues. 

Of the Premier League sides on the list, Man United a the worst performing by CIES metrics by a significant margin. 

The crisis club have chosen to give Carrick a stay of execution and fans’ lack of faith in the running of the club will only be strengthened by the brutal transfer failings of half a decade laid out in black and white.