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Man Utd’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time
Cameron Smith
- 9 Aug 2025 11:18 BST
- 7 min read
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Manchester United have heavily been criticised since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, however their investment on players has been immense during that time.
Man Utd have consistently been among the biggest spenders in the transfer market, bringing in world-famous stars on a yearly basis.
But unfortunately for the Red Devils, many of these high-profile signings have failed to produce the goods at Old Trafford.
Below, FootballTransfers lists Man Utd's 10 most expensive signings in history.
10. Matheus Cunha - €74.2m (from Wolves, 2025)
Man Utd made Matheus Cunha their first major signing of the 2025-26 season in the hopes of bouncing back from a disastrous campaign.
With the Red Devils finishing 15th in the Premier League and being one of the lowest scorers in the competition, manager Ruben Amorim was desperate to sign some proven fire-power, which led to his side activating Matheus Cunha's €74m release clause at Wolves.
Cunha grabbed 27 goals and 13 assists in his final two seasons for Wolves, indicating just why United were desperate to beat sides to his signature.
9. Angel Di Maria - €75m (from Real Madrid, 2014)
After reaching the World Cup final with Argentina and having spent several years at Real Madrid, Angel Di Maria was seen as a monumental signing for Man Utd in 2014, when he joined for a club-record fee.
With the famous No.7 on his back, Di Maria started well, with three goals and four assists in his first six games, including a gorgeous, impudent chip at Leicester.
But it very quickly went south with rumours of a rift behind the scenes. His wife would later label Manchester a “s***hole” as the pair turned to Paris after just 12 months in England.
8. Rasmus Hojlund - €77.8m (from Atalanta, 2023)
With many rivals spending big on attackers in the 2023 summer transfer window, Man Utd got in on the action by splashing out on Denmark youngster Rasmus Hojlund.
The Red Devils spent several weeks negotiating with Atalanta before agreeing a €77.8m fee for the young striker.
Hojlund scored nine goals during his one Serie A season at Atalanta, who sold the Dane for a 400% profit just 11 months after buying him from Sturm Graz.
7. Bryan Mbeumo - €82m (from Brentford, 2025)
In 2025, Man Utd splashed the cash in Ruben Amorim's first summer window in charge. After signing Matheus Cunha for €74m, they added Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo to their side as well.
The Red Devils shelled out an eye-watering €82m on the Cameroon international despite the fact that he only had a year to run on his deal, although Brentford did have the option to extend it by a further season.
Mbeumo was coming off several impressive seasons at Brentford and was desperate to move to Man Utd, the club he grew up supporting.
6. Romelu Lukaku - €84.7m (from Everton, 2017)
Romelu Lukaku had a mixed time at Man Utd after joining the club for €84.7m from Everton.
The Belgian scored 16 and 12 goals in his two Premier League seasons at Old Trafford, respectively, before leaving and going on to greater heights at Inter.
All in all, Lukaku put together two relatively decent campaigns at Old Trafford and considering Man Utd sold him to Inter for €74m, he wasn't the colossal failure he is sometimes made out to be.
= Benjamin Sesko - €85m (from RB Leipzig, 2025)
Coming off their worst-ever Premier League season in 2025, Man Utd desperately needed a new striker. After missing out on Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, RB Leipzig youngster Benjamin Sesko became the Red Devils' top target.
After a lengthy battle with Newcastle, Man Utd managed to strike an €85m deal with Leipzig. Sesko only had his heart set on moving to Old Trafford, and Man Utd director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, formerly a scout and director at Red Bull, played a huge role in making the deal happen.
Sesko scored 39 goals and provided eight assists in 87 appearances for RB Leipzig.
4. Jadon Sancho - €85m (from Borussia Dortmund, 2021)
Man Utd spent the best part of a year trying to sign Jadon Sancho before finally getting their man in the summer of 2021.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been searching for a top-class right-winger for quite some time and was delighted to bring in a player who had developed into one of the most exciting players in Europe at Borussia Dortmund.
However, Sancho struggled during his first two seasons at Old Trafford before he was frozen out by Erik ten Hag in September 2023 following the pair's public feud. €85m wasted.
3. Harry Maguire - €87m (from Leicester City, 2019)
Just 18 months after Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in history, Man Utd broke that record by signing Harry Maguire from Leicester.
It took the Englishman half a season to become the permanent Man Utd captain, and despite initial concerns over the fee, he became one of the first names on Solskjaer’s team sheet.
However, he was stripped of the captaincy by Ten Hag ahead of the 2023-24 season after losing his place in the Man Utd starting XI to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.
2. Antony - €95m (from Ajax, 2022)
Man Utd landed Antony on Transfer Deadline Day in the summer of 2022, in the biggest deal ever concluded on the final day of the summer transfer window.
He was a priority for Ten Hag throughout the summer but Man Utd's reticence to match Ajax's asking price meant that a transfer was slow to conclude.
Ultimately, the Red Devils ended up shelling out €95m in a deal that was widely seen as being too pricey for what they received. After a poor two-and-a-half year stint at Old Trafford, Antony joined Real Betis on loan in January 2025.
1. Paul Pogba - €105m (from Juventus, 2016)
Paul Pogba made his widely publicised return to Man United in the summer of 2016 for a world-record transfer fee at the time.
Another player that came under intense scrutiny, largely because of the money spent on him, Pogba frustrated fans with inconsistent performances.
Injury issues halted his impact on the side, but when fit and when performing at his best, Pogba remained one of the best midfielders in the world.
Nevertheless, he failed to live up to his price tag and left on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 to return to Juventus.
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