• Classification: This is the Premier League

The day Alex Ferguson announced that he was leaving, that 26 and a half years at the helm of Manchester United were more than enough, something broke at Old Trafford. A glorious era was ending, a quarter of a century with 46 titles, including two Champions and 13 Premier Leagues . Today, six and a half years later, melancholy remains more vivid than ever. Because after Ferguson, the long night came to the Red Devils . The tenth place he currently occupies in the Premier League is just one more step in his slow descent to hell since the goodbye of Sir Alex, a reflection of a project aimlessly and installed in mediocrity for too long.

The comparison is dramatic. In the last six seasons of Ferguson, Manchester United won three Premier Leagues - it was second in the other three -, two League Cups, four Community Shields, one Champions League and one World Cup. In the following six, the winners are reduced to a Europa League, two Community Shields, an FA Cup and a League Cup. In Premier, a runner-up to 19 points of the City and a fourth place as best results . Until 2013, United chained 17 consecutive appearances in the Champions League. Since then, he has participated in four of six, with the quarterfinals as the maximum milestone.

And all this with five different trainers , because after 26 years of stability on the bench six of continuous changes have arrived. Moyes was the successor appointed by Ferguson himself, but he didn't even finish his first season. After a brief interim of Giggs , Van Gaal took over for two seasons. Then came Mourinho , who won a Europa League but ended up fired for his poor results and his open war with Pogba. Since December, Solskjaer tries unsuccessfully to refloat the ship. At the moment, march 10th with the worst start in the league in more than three decades: 13 points in 11 games.

Loss of value

This progressive debacle has been reflected in a loss of value with respect to its competitors in the sports industry in general and football in particular. In 2012, the last season of Ferguson, Forbes magazine recognized Manchester United for the last time as the sports club, of any discipline, more valuable in the world , something that had been done continuously since 2007. Currently, the English team It occupies the sixth position in the ranking, led by the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL and in which Real Madrid and Barcelona occupy the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Its excellent positioning in international markets such as the US and Asia, however, still holds it high in this table.

Why has all this happened? Due to lack of investment in signings it has not been, of course. In these six seasons, Manchester United has been the third club in the world that has spent the most in additions, only behind Manchester City and Barcelona, ​​both with a record unmatched that of the Red Devils in this period. In total, 1,050 million euros - an average of 175 per season - in 29 signings, which cost him an average of 36 kilos , according to data from the specialized portal Transfermakt . In the balance between income and expenses, only the City exceeds its net investment.

The performance of those 1,050 million euros, needless to say, has been disastrous, with directly catastrophic operations. Some examples: he signed Di Maria for 75 million and sold it for 63; Lukaku by 85 and transferred by 65; to Pogba for 105 after giving him the freedom letter four years earlier. And then there are the minimum or no performance millionaire signings: Fred (59), Lindelof (35), Bailly (38), Schneirderlin (35), Depay (34), Fellaini (32), Red (20) ...

This season's market has been paradigmatic of drifting from Manchester United to nowhere. He left Lukaku and Alexis Sánchez without signing any striker to replace them, remaining only with Rashford and Martial as alternatives in attack. Ander Herrera, headline in the midfield, also came out, and no one came in his place. Instead, it has six centrals in its workforce. One more example of the drift in which Manchester United is plunged and from which it seems to have no idea how to escape.

Five technicians in six seasons

Moyes

From July 2013 to April 2014. He won a Community Shield and left the seventh team.

Giggs

From April to June 2014. He led four meetings as a player-coach before retiring.

Van gaal

From July 2014 to June 2016. He won an FA Cup, but did not pass the fourth place in Premier.

Mourinho

From July 2016 to December 2018. He won Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield.

Solskjaer

Since December 2018. He finished sixth last Premier and is now tenth.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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