Manchester United is one of the most dangerous a footballer can represent at this moment in time.
The English Juggernaut has had a tough decade on the pitch. Ever since legendary boss, Sir Alex Ferguson retired on May 8th, 2013. leaving behind a haul of trophies and an even more impressive amount of talents he molded into world-class footballers.
Ever since then success has been hard to come by, the club has spared no expense in finding the next big star who could help stop this club which is currently in free fall.
Many gifted young footballers have been brought to the theatre of dreams to make it come alive again, many of them have given their all but grew tired of carrying the burden of the fan’s expectations.
Here are 5 gifted footballers who dented their careers with a spell at Manchester United.
5. Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba is one of the best players this generation of football has to offer. His spell at Manchester United may have led a lot of people to forget how gifted Pogba is, Physically dominating with a huge frame, and technically excellent as going forward his passing, dribbling, and shooting is superb.
He first made a name for himself at Juventus where he burst onto the scene as a young man who was fearless, his creativity knew no bounds. From the way he looked, and the way he played the game it was clear that Juventus had a great acquisition.
He achieved a lot with Juventus as he went on to win the Seria back-to-back for four years with Juventus, from 2012 to 2016. He was then serenaded with a big-money move back to Manchester United which was ruined by too many coaches, too many injuries, and too many controversies.
Pogba showcased tiny glimpses of the player he was, but most times things just didn’t click or he didn’t look as if he wanted to play. When he was with France we saw the dynamic midfielder that powered frame to World Cup victory.
Pogba has left Manchester United for Juventus again but the dent United put on his career and the years he lost in limbo are telling.
4. Jaden Sancho
Jadon Sancho was one of the first English young footballers that left England in search of greener pastures in Europe.
The talented man made his move from the Manchester City academy to Borussia Dortmund In search of first-team football. He proved to everyone he was right and really broke through and made his debut for the England National team without playing in England.
That’s not something many people have achieved, He stunned the world in the 2018/2019 Bundesliga football season where he made 34 appearances registering 12 goals and 18 assists marking him as the most dangerous English youngster on the planet.
The next season he would go on to score 17 goals and 17 assists in 32 games, his last season in Germany he made 8 goals and 12 assists in 26 matches before his 85 million move to manchester united.
Since then he has scored 8 goals and 4 assists in 52 appearances, he also lost his spot in the English squad and did not make it to the Qatar 2022 world cup. It is not a coincidence that another player’s career declined as soon as he reached the Theatre of dreams.
3. Donny Van De Beek
Donny Van De Beek has changed from the technical midfield genius who had no problems making runs into the box or beating players at the edge of the box to drag defenders off the attackers to a shy limited midfielder.
Since his 40 million move he has declined in both value and confidence. Below is a graph showing how immediately he moves to United the decline starts.
The decline is obviously caused by multiple factors, the player’s confidence, lack of stability in the club, or just too many managers to settle into a playing system.
He was loaned out to Everton signaling the resignation of the club towards his future there, another case where a player was flourishing in life and then a move to United completely alters the course of his career.
2. Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial had his breakout season in the 2014/2015 French Ligue 1 season where he registered 9 goals and 4 assists in 34 appearances.
Monaco thought at 19 he could be the next Henry, but they would not be the ones responsible for that evolution as United would come the very next transfer Window with a 60 million offer and heavy incentives including one which Monaco would be compensated if Martial won a Balon D’or.
That’s how much potential Martial had and for a 19-year-old his season went well, on his debut he bamboozled Skrtel and the Liverpool defence to score an emphatic goal which announced him in style, he went on to produce 11 goals and 4 assists in 31 appearances that season.
To his credit Martial has 83 goals and 52 assists in 276 appearances for United but has never been viewed as the main man or even a pivotal part of the starting 11.
He has been on the bench for a long period of time and was recently loaned to Sevilla for a frustrating spell, that’s not the career path of a supposed Balon D’or candidate.
1. David De Gea
David De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has been for over a decade now.
It is very unfortunate for the Spaniard that he missed out on the era of Sir Alex because he has been saving the team and suffering due to horrible defending since 2014.
De Gea has saved manchester United more times than I can remember, as a Liverpool fan I can testify that I’ve suffered because of De Gea. His shot-stopping is second to none and he is extremely consistent.
He did not take part in the Qatar 2022 World Cup and I know he wont take that with a smile, someone as talented as him should be Spains number 1 goalie and the only reason why he is not is because he is stuck in the negativity that currently consumes Manchester United.
