Rio Ferdinand has taken aim at Manchester United’s recruitment policy over the last decade, claiming there are only three players that have arrived and ‘played to a level you’d expect’ from them.
United have notoriously struggled in the transfer market in recent years and have often shelled out huge amounts of money on players that failed to live up to their billing.
The Red Devils have often overpaid for players too, with the likelihood of making a return on their huge investments looking slim.
It has led to new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team to reportedly put the entire squad up for sale this summer, with just three players being named as off limits.
The notion that United are ready to shift the large majority of their players signals their poor strategy in the market thus far and club legend Ferdinand revealed that he can only think of three players that have been brought to the come and lived up to what was expected of them.
Rio Ferdinand has taken aim at Manchester United’s recruitment policy over the last decade
United icon claims there’s only three players who’ve come and played ‘at a level you expect’
In an interview with Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman on The Sports Agents podcast, Ferdinand said that podcast, Ferdinand said that Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only three that have done what is expected of them.
He said: ‘When you look at the recruitment, I think there’s only three players that I can remember coming in and then going, “Okay, they’ve played at a level that you would have expected.”
‘Bruno [Fernandes], Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. The only three players I though that you go actually I saw consistently what I expected to see from them.
‘Everyone else just fell well short. For whatever reason it is, they just haven’t hit a standard you expect them to come in for. There’s no value in them in what you expect. So they have to get to the bottom of that.’
Raphael Varane became the first United player to confirm his departure after the club failed to come to an agreement with the France defender over renegotiating his £340,000-a-week contract.
Other big earners will follow as Ineos cut the wage bill, including Anthony Martial, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho. The club will also listen to offers for Marcus Rashford and Antony.
But United have no wish to sell Fernandes — and insist their captain does not want to leave — following a meeting at Carrington last week.
Fernandes, who turns 30 in September and earns £240,000-a-week, could be a target for some of Europe’s top clubs or the Saudi Pro League this summer.
‘In all the years, he was a tremendously important player for Manchester United,’ added Ten Hag. ‘So many assists, so many goals. It’s clear he’s a very important player for us.’
Ten Hag also challenged Wayne Rooney’s claim on Sky Sports last Sunday that some United players are hiding behind injuries so they can play in the FA Cup final and Euros.
Raphael Varane is the first United player to announce his exit from Old Trafford this summer
United have no intentions of selling Bruno Fernandes after speculation over his future
Confirming Lisandro Martinez would return to the squad against Newcastle, with Fernandes and Rashford also battling to be fit, Ten Hag said: ‘You have to see here at Carrington, the players are desperate to play.
‘I see Licha Martinez, I see Bruno who did a fitness test on Sunday to play. Rashford did everything he could do but couldn’t make it.
‘You also see Victor Lindelof and Rapha Varane, they are training to make themselves available for the final.’
