Sir Alex’s Worst Ever Signings
Top 10 Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worst Signings For Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson will go down as arguably the best ever manager of all-time, but even he didn’t get it right all the time, especially in the transfer window.
An abundance of Premier League titles, Champions League titles and FA Cup titles, Sir Alex was a simply stunning manager at Old Trafford, but we thought we’d take a look into the signings he made that simply didn’t work out for The Red Devils.
Top-10 worst signings ever made by Sir Alex
Here are the top-10 worst signings ever made by Sir Alex.
10. Juan Sebastián Verón: £28m from Lazio
To begin the list is Juan Sebastian Veron.
Veron was considered a great player by Sir Alex, but the Argentinian struggled at Old Trafford and failed to live up to his massive price-tag.
After he joined Manchester United in 2001 for £28.1 million, Veron failed to establish a name for him self and in 2003 he joined Premier League rivals Chelsea for just £15 million, meaning United made a loss £14 million.
9. Kléberson: £6.5m from Atlético Paranaense
One of the few Brazilians to ever play for Manchester United has made the list of Top 10 Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worst Signings.
Kléberson was signed by Ferguson from Athletico Paranaense in 2003 for just under £7m, and although it wasn’t a very expensive deal, it was easily one of his worst.
At the same time Kleberson arrived at Old Trafford, a man named Cristiano Ronaldo also joined.
In two years at the club, the Brazilian made just 20 Premier League appearances, scoring two goals.
8. Gabriel Obertan: £3m from Bordeaux
Currently playing for Newcastle United in the Premier League, Gabriel Obertan was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009 from Bordeaux for £3 million.
Once again, the fee wasn’t a big one for the winger, but he simply failed to show any glimpses of promise at The Red Devils.
From 2009-2011, Obertan made 14 Premier League appearances for Sir Alex, scoring no goals. Since 2011 he has been at Newcastle and has gone on to make over 50 appearances for The Magpies.
7. Eric Djemba-Djemba: £3.5m from Nantes
Yet Another player purchased from the Ligue 1 by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Eric Djemba-Djemba was signed in 2003 for £3.5 million from Nantes but the midfielder did not come to the party at Manchester United and is considered as one of the Top 10 Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worst Signings For Manchester United.
After two years and just 20 league appearances, in 2005 he was let go by Manchester United and joined Aston Villa, but he only managed 11 appearances at Villa Park during his two year stint.
6. Dimitar Berbatov: £30.75m from Tottenham Hotspur
Some people may find it harsh to see Berbatov on the list, but the Bulgarian didn’t match his £30m price-tag during his career in Manchester.
After a superb career at White Hart Lane, the striker secured a mega-money move to Old Trafford, and during his four year stint with Sir Alex, he managed to make 108 appearances, scoring 48 goals.
However, despite his good scoring ratio, Berbatov’s attitude and style of play didn’t win over Sir Alex and he spent most of his time at Old Trafford on the bench.
5. Dong Fangzhou: £3.5m from Dalian Shide
Dong joined Manchester United in 2004 for £3.5 million from Dalian Shide.
The Chinese striker only managed to score in pre season during a tour in South Africa against Kaizier Chiefs.
The 30-year-old only made one domestic league appearance for Manchester United in his four year career at Old Trafford.
Even though it was only £3.5m, it has to go down as one of Ferguson’s worst ever signings.
4. David Bellion: £3m from Sunderland
Closing in on the top-four is French footballer David Bellion, who is currently playing for Red Star.
The striker joined Manchester United in 2003 from Sunderland for just £3m, but only made 24 appearances for the club, scoring just four goals.
Once again, it isn’t a very expensive deal, but it’s another deal that didn’t work out for Sir Alex or Manchester United.
3. Massimo Taibi: £4.5m from Venezia
This time around we have a goalkeeper on the list and an awful one at that.
Massimo Taibi moved to Manchester United from Venezia for £4.5 million and only spent one season at Old Trafford, making just four appearances.
However, those four appearances were riddled with costly and embarrassing errors.
The Italian retired from professional football in 2009.
2. Ralph Milne: £170,000 from Bristol City
Ralph Milne is a Scottish footballer who played for Manchester United from 1988-1991.
The retired footballer is considered to be one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worst Signings for Manchester United.
The midfielder cost Sir Alex just £170k, but in his three years at the club, he made just 23 appearances, scoring a poor three goals.
A lot of the younger fans won’t even know this guys name so he’s definitely not a Manchester United legend or a signing to remember.
1. Bébé: £7.4 million from Vitória de Guimarães
We are finally down to number 1 of the Top 10 Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worst Signings For Manchester United which is Portuguese footballer Bebe.
In 2010 Bebe joined United for a fee around £7 million from Vitória de Guimarães.
When Bebe was asked about his relationship with Ferguson he answered: “He told me to cut my hair, it will look better. So I cut it the same day. In the next training session, he didn’t recognise me. I went past him many times and he didn’t know me.”
The forward spent four years at Old Trafford, but only managed to make two appearances for the club in the Premier League.
After three loan-spells away from the club, Bebe finally completed a permanent move to Benfica in 2014. However, he was then sent out on loan by the Portuguese giants to Cordoba.
So there you have it, the list of poor Sir Alex Ferguson signings and if this manager can get things wrong, everyone can.