wesley sneijder

Man Utd’s 10 biggest transfer window snubs since 2010

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With the transfer window in full flow, what better time to take a look back on some of the best players Manchester United have missed out on.

Although the Red Devils can be a superpower in the market offering huge fees and luxury wages, they’ve often not had their way when it comes to signings.

Many icons of the game have received that special call from the club, only to look the other way.

From Wesley Sneijder (painful to write his name) to Frenkie de Jong (not much easier) this list is truly remarkable.

10th – Sergio Ramos

The idea of legendary defender Sergio Ramos ever playing for United seems a bizarre one, but in 2015, it was a real possibility. The Spaniard had reportedly told Real Madrid that he wanted to leave the club and join Louis van Gaal’s United.

In a Sky Sports article on June 30th 2015, Graham Hunter, Sky’s Spanish football expert said: “Ramos has told Madrid directly that he is absolutely and completely committed to leaving the club this summer, that he specifically wants them to begin negotiations with Manchester United and that he doesn’t want them to negotiate with anybody except Manchester United.”

A month and a half later and Ramos had signed a new contract at Madrid.

“I know this renewal has taken a while but my heart and head have always been with Real Madrid so I couldn’t be happier,” Ramos said upon renewing terms.

United had been completely swindled by the Spaniard.

9th – Cesc Fabregas

Oh, what could’ve been. The signing of Cesc Fabregas would’ve been a game-changer for United, giving them that intelligence and quality in the midfield. He was David Moyes’ first-choice signing but missing out on the Spaniard set the tone for the awful year that followed.

Fabregas said to Moyes he would leave Barcelona and join United if he didn’t start their first game of the season. This was due to previous frustration of missing out in big games. Inevitably, he started the game and United’s hopes were completely dashed.

Fabregas would leave Barcelona the following summer but Moyes’ sacking and Van Gaal’s arrival led to a cooling of interest and he ultimately joined Chelsea.

8th – Toni Kroos

In a similar case to Fabregas, United were on the brink of signing Toni Kroos but for Moyes’ sacking. The German midfielder had all but agreed to join United, with the contract almost done.

Van Gaal succeeded Moyes but was away with the Netherlands for the World Cup, so Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid swooped in. The rest is history. United missed out on two of the best midfielders in Europe, two summers on the bounce.

7th – Ivan Perisic

A few years later and United would become the masters of their own downfall. In 2017, Jose Mourinho was in charge and had just led United to a very successful first season. They’d won the Community Shield, Carabao Cup and Europa League. The Portuguese manager had brought in Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku but desperately wanted Ivan Perisic.

Mourinho pushed and pushed for the Croatian winger but the club weren’t willing to meet Inter’s asking price and so missed out. With Mourinho sacked the following year, did the club fail him?

6th – Eden Hazard

Sir Alex Ferguson wanted Eden Hazard, even going to watch him the day before a Premier League game. To which Hazard said: “Of course [United interest me], this is a club that excites everyone, but for now my focus is on Lille. But yes, it is a pleasure to be watched by one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best.”

Ultimately after speaking to Chelsea combined with their Champions League triumph, Hazard simply picked the west London side. This was not quite as agonising as some of the others, but just as painful in the long term after seeing the player he became.

5th – Erling Haaland

Having worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde, Haaland’s move to United almost felt like an inevitability. Key word ‘almost’. Being the son of former Leeds and Manchester City player Alf-Inge Haaland, whose career was disrupted by a horror tackle from United captain Roy Keane, made the Red Devils a slightly less desirable option, but with Solskjaer at United, the deal still looked like a real possibility.

The terms of the contract were a problem for United however, with the club not willing to have a release clause in the Haaland deal. He joined Borussia Dortmund as a result and is now tearing it up for United’s local rivals City…

How different things could’ve been if United just accepted a release clause…

4th – Antoine Griezmann

The famous 6/10 deal. The Antoine Greizmann deal was even weirder than the rest. United had expressed a strong interest in meeting the Frenchman’s £86m release clause in the summer of 2017. He publicly expressed his desire to leave Atletico Madrid in search for winning titles.

Griezmann said: “I want to win titles. We finished third in La Liga, it was the objective of the club, but we, the players, want more.”

Where it got really unusual, is when he ranked the likelihood of him joining United. He gave it a 6/10.

But just a few weeks later, Atletico received a transfer ban. This changed everything. Griezmann felt a sense of loyalty to the club, which influenced him to stay because they wouldn’t be able to replace him, and he didn’t want to hinder Atletico in any way.

In the meantime, Zlatan Ibrahimović’s long-term injury meant United’s strategy in the transfer market changed. Instead of looking for a number 10 like Griezmann, an out-and-out number nine became the priority.

This led to Romelu Lukaku being signed instead.

3rd – Frenkie de Jong

An image to haunt any man.

A whole summer spent chasing a player who never once wanted to join. Like the incessant lad in a club who keeps approaching the same girl who’s rejected him five times. It was baffling.

Frenkie de Jong was always Ten Hag’s number one priority, but the Dutch midfielder wanted to stay at Barcelona and 17m euros worth of deferred wage payments made this deal even harder to pull off. But United’s hierarchy was committed to getting Ten Hag his man.

While admirable, the blind faith they had in him eventually changing his mind was staggering. Barcelona tried to force him out, but he had all the power.

So despite United agreeing a deal for De Jong with Barcelona, personal terms were never agreed and United had wasted their whole summer.

And people wonder why fans are so happy with INEOS…

2nd – Jadon Sancho

jadon sancho playing for borussia dortmund
Ralf Roletschek (GFDL 1.2 or FAL), via Wikimedia Commons

You might be surprised to see a player who did eventually end up at United on this list, but the Jadon Sancho saga was too big to leave out.

United held interest in Sancho all the way back in 2019 but signed Dan James instead.

The following summer, the English winger had quickly become a priority, following his sensational form at Dortmund.

BVB demanded a £90m fee or nothing. United weren’t keen on paying that much. This led to months of little progress.

Fans were in a frenzy watching the club waste a whole summer (sounds familiar) on one player but still not being willing to pay the asking price.

On social media the phrase ‘things are happening’ will haunt United fans, after German journalist Christian Falk used this to describe the Sancho saga.

Ultimately, United’s arrogance was their undoing. Dortmund had set an August 10th deadline to give themselves enough time to find a replacement. The Red Devils thought they were bluffing.

They weren’t.

United’s whole strategy was ruined.

In a panic, Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Edison Cavani, Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo were signed.

Another chaotic transfer window.

1st – Wesley Sneijder

Who else.

The man, the myth the legend.

Wesley Sneijder has probably become the biggest ongoing transfer window meme of all time.

Every single summer United were linked to him. Every single summer nothing materialised.

In 2021, Ferguson came out and said United were never truly in for Sneijder.

He said: “That’s come up a lot of times but we were never interested in Sneijder. I don’t know where that came from but you get a lot of them.”

Sneijder however, revealed that in 2011, he actually was close to joining.

But his agent had demanded more money for himself and that’s why the deal fell through.

It couldn’t be a transfer snubs list without Sneijder.

An icon of the summer transfer window.