When it comes to signing players to a club, Manchester United can be called the most unlucky. They are known for having eyes on good players but have little ability to convert them to Old Trafford.

In this article, we shall be bringing to you the top players Manchester United missed out on. Recently, they lost out of the race of signing Benfica striker Darwin Nunez after they keen interest in the Uruguayan for months. 90minsoccer looks back at some more players who were on the Red Devils’ radar but never joined the club.

Missing out on Darwin Nunez’s transfer is United’s recent loss for a transfer target. Manchester United have been in search of a top striker this summer and losing out on Nunez is a huge blow and could have been avoided. United’s new manager Erik ten Hag now has no other option but to consider other alternatives in the transfer market.

Although Erik ten Hag is not the only United boss to taste disappointment in the market, Sir Alex Ferguson repeatedly failed to land key players he believed will join the club and ease his struggle but was disappointed in the end.

Having this in mind, We have decided to bring you the top 10 world-class players who Manchester United wanted at Old Trafford but never succeeded in landing at the club…

Read Also:

• Sadio Mane Transfer Update: Liverpool Agreed to Personal Terms with Bayern Munich
• Premier League Schedule 2022/23 Is Out!
• Liverpool has completed Darwin Nunez Transfer from Benfica for €100
• 2021-22 English Premier League Table

1. Alan Shearer

In the 90s, the first renowned player that slipped off the hands of Sir Alex Ferguson is Alan Shearer.

The then all-conquering Manchester United could have been much better with Shearer joining their attacking line but unfortunately, Ferguson lost out twice in signing the Premier League all-time scorer.

The epileptic attacking line of Ferguson’s side saw Blackburn Rovers beat them to the Premier League title in 1995.

After United’s woe in the 1995 Premier League campaign, everyone thought their bid for Shearer in 1996 as a step to solve their attacking problem will turn out good but they were disappointed at the latter end.

Despite having Eric Cantona upfront and a misfiring Andy Cole, the Red Devils still managed to reach the Champions League semi-finals but were only good enough to end their campaign in the Semi-finals as they wasted a quantum of good chances against Borussia Dortmund as they exit the competition.

No doubt, if only Alan Shearer was part of the team, it could have been a different story by now.

2. Sadio Mane

Another past Manchester United manager that has suffered a failure in signing a key player is Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal has a lot of stories to say about the club’s failure to deliver in the transfer market. During his tenure, his main target was Sadio Mane, Van Gaal’s keen interest in the Senegalese led him to bid for the energetic forward, but unfortunately, Ed Woodward missed out on the Dutchman’s target.

Manchester United’s interest in Mane came in 2015 and was more or less a surprise move and everyone believed it was going to pull through. Mane was then playing for Southampton and has made an impressive performance at St. Mary’s. Who could have thought he would turn down the English champions?

The following year, Sadio Mane joined Liverpool for £34m, and only a handful of football lovers expected him to fit into the club and live up to expectations but he later did even beyond our imaginations.

Mane has completed a move to Bayern Munich this year after a splendid trophy-filled six-year stay at Anfield. Mane had a spectacular career at the Mersey side winning all the available trophies for the club winning six trophies in six years while Man United have barely won any in the past six years.

3. John Barnes

Alex Ferguson was also faced with another disappointment when he failed to outclass Liverpool FC for the signature of John Barned in 1987 when the ace player left his current team and joined the Merseyside club despite keen interest from the Alex Ferguson’s side.

Although the Man United manager was a huge fan of the England winger, Ferguson thought the team was complete having Jesper Olsen fit-in in place of Barnes.

Unfortunately, Olsen failed to perform as expected at Old Trafford, the aftermath of which saw him exit the club earlier than expected.

Meanwhile, Barnes on the other hand won four titles at Liverpool (two league titles and two FA Cups), in 1988, Olsen was named PFA Player of the Year, and twice won the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year award, in 1988 and 1990.

4. Toni Kroos

The Real Madrid and Germany legend Toni Kroos was not left out of Manchester United transfer flattery. The star player was one of those ace midfielders former Man United manager David Moyes tried to land at Old Trafford but unluckily missed out during his 8-month reign as the club’s manager in charge of the English club.

Kroos who was a Bayern Munich player then was approached by Moyes in a quest to bring the ace German to Old Trafford but the deal never saw the limelight. 

Unfortunately for Moyes his stay at United was short-lived after the Red Devils missed out on the Champions League spot and consequently led to the termination of his contract with the club.

During the second transfer window of his reign as Manchester united manager, Moyes had his eyes fixed on three ace midfielders- Toni Kroos, Thiago Alcantara, and Cesc Fabregas. After losing out to Toni, all efforts to land the other two alternatives also proved abortive.

5. Peter Beardsley

In the 1987 summer transfer window, we saw Alex Ferguson making a £3m bid to Newcastle for the signing of Peter Beardsley as a move to rebuild the club.

However, the Red Devils were once again unlucky as the England international chose to join Liverpool instead of Manchester United for £1.9m far lesser than the amount Manchester United were offering him.

Although his move to Anfield could be the dream of any football player as he was part of Kenny Dalglish’s unstoppable squad that won the league title title-winners the following season.

6. Jordan Henderson

Alex Ferguson once admits his likeness to Jordan Henderson while at Sunderland and hopes the England international will be a good fit for his squad at Old Trafford.

While Ferguson was keen on landing the young English boy at United, he was however cautioned by the medical team of the club over Henderson’s style of play which they feared may lead to a series of injury worries if he arrives at the club.

In one of Ferguson’s recent interviews, he has this to say about Jordan Henderson “We loved him as a player and he has proved that now, he has been fantastic and all the stories I am being told, it tells me I missed out on a really good person,”.

Henderson who is currently the captain of a formidable Liverpool team has lifted all six trophies in recent years at Liverpool including four major trophies and two domestic titles.

7. Mick Harford

Before United signed Eric Cantona, and before the twice-failed pursuit of Alan Shearer, Manchester United had suffered heartbreak in their quest to sign Mick Harford from Luton Town in 1992. The veteran striker was 33 years at then, and one could have thought won’t be a good option for any coach but instead, Alex Ferguson saw potential beyond his age.

Though Manchester United had a keen interest in the forward, Ferguson however never made a formal bid to sign Harford – a decision the management of the club came to regret.

Ferguson believed Harford could be the solution to the club’s misfiring attacking force as they keep struggling for goals as the season was gradually coming to an end with arch-rivals Leeds United threatening hard to win the title.

Harford would have been a match to Lee Chapman, the free-scoring striker of title rivals Leeds, who were on the verge of being crowned champions.

8. Erling Haaland

As if Manchester United have not missed enough finest talent enough, they are now going to sit back and watch Erling Haaland lead the attacking line of fellow Manchester team in the next couple of seasons.

Back in the 2019 winter, the Red Devils were in a fierce hunt for the Molde striker. Football lovers thought the Norwegian will be joined United considering the advantage of having Ole Gunner Solkjear, a Norwegian as a manager at that time. Ole was not only a legend in Norway but was also Haaland’s mentor and role model at Molde.

The chance of being reunited at Old Trafford was surely too good to resist and too feasible than infeasible.

Shockingly, Haaland joined Dortmund for a fee of £18m, such an amount that United will be able and are willing to pay far beyond but his decision has been made and an agreement reached.

In recent times, United didn’t show interest in Erling Haaland especially after re-signing former legend Cristiano Ronaldo last year, little did they know that their fellow Manchester rivals were preparing a shocking move for the veteran striker.

Either way, the Red Devils have missed out on a young and absolute goal machine.

9. Luis Dias

Down to 2021 Manchester United kept suffering the same kind of predicament in the transfer market. The struggling English champions picked interest in the FC Porto winger to help boost their epileptic attacking force in the january transfers but were disappointed on the long-run. 

The Colombian winger was on top of his game at Porto scoring 14 goals in 50 appearance and winning 2 domestic titles in his first year at the Portuguese club.

Who would ever thought Diaz would join Liverpool who are blessed with a number of options in the attacking line, but it happens as the Colombia international chose to join Liverpool over Manchester United.

10. Karim Benzema

In 2009 Alex Ferguson was faced with the huge task of letting Cristiano Ronaldo go, to which he reluctantly agreed considering his status as the World’s Best Player. 

The Man United Manager had the plan of filling the vacuum created by the young world best with another talent and Karim Benzema was the plan.

The only problem that obstruct this fantastic plan of his was the fat account of Real Madrid. While Real Madrid were bidding for Cristiano Ronaldo for a world-record of £80m, they still had enough fund to still pay the £25m required to sign Benzema from Lyon.

While we say Ronaldo has done well for his football career by joining Madrid, he is however back to Manchester United with the hope of reviving the squad to their days of glory. Benzema however has just helped Madrid to lift their 14th European Cup and is the favorite to win the 2022 Ballon d’Or.