Manchester United face the prospect of breaking their club transfer record this summer if they are to land main target Jadon Sancho, who is valued at £108m by Borussia Dortmund.
United are no strangers to paying big fees and bought their first £1m player back in 1980. Since then, the transfer record has fallen 14 times.
Take a closer look at all the record-breaking deals from these 40 years.
Gary Birtles net worth £1.25 million in 1980/Getty Images/Getty Images
transfer: October 1980 from Nottingham Forest
Appearances: 64
Objectives: 12
Honors: No one.
Gary Birtles won the League Cup and two European Cups in a 14-month spell with Nottingham Forest between 1979 and 1980. He then had a flying start to the 1980/81 season, prompting United to make him his first £1m transfer in October.
United paid £1.25 million for the 24-year-old, who notably failed to score a league goal for the remainder of the campaign with his new club, scoring just once in the FA Cup. A second year with United, but returned to the Jungle in 1982.
Decision: miss
Bryan Robson became a Man Utd legend in 13 years at Old Trafford / Pascal Rondeau / Getty Images
transfer: October 1981 from West Bromwich Albion
Appearances: 461
Objectives: 99
Honors: Premier League (x2), FA Cup (x4), UEFA Cup Winners Cup
A year after signing Birtles, United again hit big in the transfer market, backing new manager Ron Atkinson to sign midfielder Bryan Robson for a British record £1.5m – the pair’s arrival in Manchester. had already worked together at the Baggies.
Robson became the longest-serving captain in United’s history and is remembered as the Old Trafford captain. Although it came towards the end of his spell, he shared the inaugural Premier League trophy in 1992/93 to end a 26-year title drought.
Decision: hit
Man Utd re-signs Mark Hughes from Barcelona in 1988 / Simon Berti / Getty Images
transfer: May 1988 from Barcelona
Appearances: 353*
Objectives: 116*
Honors: Premier League (x2), FA Cup (x2)*, European Cup Winners’ Cup
Mark Hughes began his career at United after joining the club as an apprentice in the late 1970s and was soon a major source of goals after breaking into the first team in 1984. But that form brought him to the attention of Barcelona, who paid £2m to take him to Spain in 1986.
Unlike fellow British expat Gary Lineker, Hughes struggled at Camp Nou. The following season he was loaned to Bayern Munich, before a club-record move back to Old Trafford in 1988. He became a central part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s first great United team.
Decision: hit
*Indicates second spell only – after record transfer
Pallister won nine major trophies in nine years with Man Utd/Getty Images/Getty Images
transfer: August 1989 from Middlesbrough
Appearances: 437
Objectives: Fifteen
Honors: Premier League (x4), FA Cup (x3), League Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup, PFA Players’ Player of the Year
By the time he left United in 1998, Gary Pallister was actually the most decorated player in the club’s long and distinguished history, having won nine major trophies in nine years. He was also selected five times for the top-flight PFA Team of the Year and the 1991/92 PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
Pallister was a physically commanding centre-back who also played with a certain technical grace. His partnership with Steve Bruce is regarded as one of the greatest in Premier League history and was the rock upon which United’s dominance of the early 1990s was built.
Decision: hit
Roy Keane almost joined Blackburn before opting for Man Utd/Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
transfer: July 1993 from Nottingham Forest
Appearances: 480
Objectives: 51
Honors: Premier League (x7), FA Cup (x4), Champions League, Intercontinental Cup, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year
How United signed Roy Keane in the summer of 1993 is the story of the ultimate opportunism on Sir Alex Ferguson’s part as the midfielder had infamously already agreed a deal to join Blackburn. But because the paperwork wasn’t ready, United swooped in to snap it up.
Kane was initially a junior member of an established team but soon moved into the club captaincy and won eight major trophies as captain. He was a born winner and refused to settle for second place, while his performance against Juventus in the Champions League in 1999 stood out.
Decision: hit
Andrew Cole cost Man Utd £6m plus Keith Gillespie/Shon Botterill/Getty Images
transfer: January 1995 from Newcastle United
Appearances: 275
Objectives: 121
Honors: Premier League (x5), FA Cup (x2), Champions League
Andrew Cole’s move to Old Trafford in January 1995 cost a total of £7m, but saw United send £1m to the highly-rated Keith Gillespie and £6m in cash to Newcastle to boost the explosive forward. Within weeks of his arrival, he became the first player to score five goals in a single Premier League game.
Cole emerged as United’s leading goalscorer following Eric Cantona’s departure in 1997 and later formed a season-defining partnership with Dwight Yorke that led the club’s charge to a famous treble in 1998/99.
Decision: hit
Jaap Stam was the first Man Utd player to be paid more than £10m / Ben Radford/Getty Images
transfer: July 1998 from PSV Eindhoven
Appearances: 127
Objectives: 1
Honors: Premier League (x3), FA Cup, Champions League, Intercontinental Cup
In many ways, Jaap Stam was an excellent signing for United, even if his time at Old Trafford was relatively short. The Dutchman was the first eight-figure player in the club’s history, winning six major honors in three years before being sold at a profit.
Stam was the defensive rock on which United’s treble campaign was built and remained vital during the next record-breaking Premier League season. Injuries limited him to just 23 appearances in 2000/01 and left for Lazio.
Decision: hit
Dwight Yorke scored 29 goals in 1998/99 treble season / Getty Images / Getty Images
transfer: August 1998 from Aston Villa
Appearances: 152
Objectives: 65
Honors: Premier League (x3), FA Cup, Champions League, Intercontinental Cup
Dwight Yorke proved to be the final piece of the puzzle to United’s treble-winning campaign, having been bought from Aston Villa who had previously done well against the club in previous years. He particularly benefited from David Beckham’s pinpoint crossing ability.
“We knew Yorke was a good player at Aston Villa, but you didn’t think he was going to come to United. I don’t think anyone realized how good a player he was – I never realized that. That’s how good he is,” Gary Neville said of the striker on Sky Sports earlier this year.
Decision: hit
Ruud van Nistelroy scores 150 goals for Man Utd in five years / Phil Cole/Getty Images
transfer: July 2001 from PSV Eindhoven
Appearances: 219
Objectives: 150
Honors: Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Premier League Golden Boot
Ruud van Nistelroy was initially due to join United for £18.5m in the summer of 2000, only for the transfer to be called off when he damaged his ACL during a training session. The £19m move was something of a gamble when it finally happened in 2001.
But the Dutch frontman soon dispelled any doubts and scored 36 goals in his first season. He then went on to hit a staggering 44 in all competitions in his second year and by the time he left in 2006 had averaged 30 goals for five years.
Decision: hit
Juan Sebastian Veron never really fit in at Man Utd / Alex Lewsey / Getty Images
transfer: From Lazio in July 2001
Appearances: 82
Objectives: Eleven
Honors: Premier League
The dust had barely settled on Van Nistelrooy’s arrival at Old Trafford when United broke the British transfer record for the second time in a summer, landing Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio. A further £9m was added to the record in one stroke.
Sadly, aside from a few flashes, the Veyron was not a success. He had a reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world and shone in Serie A, yet there seemed to be no place for him at United. Thus, he was sold to Chelsea for half the money after just two years.
Decision: miss
Rio Ferdinand becomes world’s most expensive defender / Alex Livesey/Getty Images
transfer: July 2002 from Leeds United
Appearances: 455
Objectives: 8
Honors: Premier League (x6), League Cup (x3), Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup
After a somewhat torrid start to his United career which saw him serve an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test at the start of his second season, Rio Ferdinand has proved worth every penny of his £30m fee. Which made him the most expensive defender. in the world.
As a truly world-class centre-back, Ferdinand naturally assumed a leadership role during one of the most concentrated periods of success in United’s history. At his peak, he won three back-to-back Premier League titles and formed a legendary partnership with Nemanja Vidic.
Decision: hit
Man Utd poach Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham / PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images
transfer: From Tottenham Hotspur in September 2008
Appearances: 149
Objectives: 56
Honors: Premier League (x2), League Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Premier League Golden Boot
It took another six years for United to break the £30m barrier again after Ferdinand, beating Novo-rich Manchester City to the signing of handsome Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian was quickly a fan favorite, even if his slow style didn’t always fit.
Berbatov effectively replaced Carlos Tevez in United’s starting XI and enjoyed considerable success in his first three seasons. He was never truly competent but was mesmerizing to watch and won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2010/11 when United broke Liverpool’s league title record.
Decision: hit
Juan Mata is a fan favorite but played in a poor man’s Utd team / Michael Regan / Getty Images
transfer: January 2014 from Chelsea
Appearances: 255
Objectives: 48
Honors: FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League
Likable and generally still popular as a person, Joan has been functionally fine during her six years as First Lady. The Spaniard is far from an outright flop and has had plenty of good moments, but he hasn’t done enough to justify a club-record signing.
Mata was at his best for United between 2014 and 2017, which is a shame as the team as a whole was decidedly poor. He has increasingly become less and less effective in sporadic appearances and failed to score a league goal for the first time in his career in 2019/20.
Decision: miss
Man Utd sell Angel Di Maria at a loss after just one year / PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images
transfer: From Real Madrid in August 2014
Appearances: 32
Objectives: 4
Honors: No one.
Angel Di Maria was lightning fast for both Real Madrid in the Champions League in 2014 and Argentina at the World Cup. He was exactly what United needed after a disastrous campaign under David Moyes, except he never fit into Louis van Gaal’s system.
Long before United had established a long-term plan or direction, it was a case of round hole, square peg for Di Maria. He got off to a good start with the demolition of QPR at Old Trafford, but he soon collapsed and the damage was irreparable by the time burglars tried to break into his home.
Decision: miss
Paul Pogba was Man Utd’s first world record transfer / James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
transfer: From Juventus in August 2016
Appearances: 157
Objectives: 32
Honors: League Cup, Europa League
Despite holding nine British transfer records over the years, six of them in the Premier League era, United never broke the overall world transfer record until Paul Pogba rejoined the club for £89m in the summer of 2016. did not He had previously quit in 2012. Nominal compensation
Since then, the French national has been heavily criticized. But he has never been able to rely on quality team-mates so far, while he led United in goals and assists in 2018/19 as a central midfielder. He was also the only non-Liverpool or Manchester City player in that season’s PFA Team of the Year.
Decision: hit
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