Manchester United have had a plethora of talented players on their books throughout their 145-year history, but some of those have slipped through the net, and perhaps departed the club far too soon.
Football FanCast has taken a look at 10 players Manchester United should never have sold.
10 Angel Gomes to Lille – Free (2020)
Letting Angel Gomes – a highly-talented England Under-21 international – depart on a free transfer looks like a huge mistake from United.
Gomes has been an integral part of Lille's side since joining up with their first team in the summer of 2021 following a successful season-long loan spell with Portuguese top-flight outfit Boavista, and at just 23 years old, he has plenty of time to improve.
His performances for England at the Under-21 European Championship this summer were further evidence that United made an error in letting him go, as he displayed countless midfield masterclasses en route to winning the illustrious youth-level competition.
What's worse is that United are in desperate need of a deep-lying playmaker – the role Gomes operates in – and could do with someone of his profile to partner Casemiro at the base of the midfield.
Erik ten Hag would surely have loved to have him at his disposal…
9 Memphis Depay to Lyon – £13.8m (2017)
Memphis Depay very much feels like a 'right player, wrong time' kind of transfer, which is often the term United fans would use to describe his tenure at Old Trafford.
The Dutch forward made a £31m switch to Manchester in 2015 as a 21-year-old following a 28-goal season with PSV, but he failed to replicate the heights displayed in the Eredivisie and with his national team.
He netted a respectable seven goals in his debut season at United and provided nine assists, which certainly isn't a bad return, particularly given his age.
The following season, Memphis barely got a look-in under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, who sold the Dutchman in January 2017, ending a short 18-month career at United.
Since departing, he's flourished at Lyon, where he scored 76 goals and provided 55 assists across 178 appearances before joining La Liga giants Barcelona in 2021.
Memphis is now plying his trade with Atletico Madrid.
8 Darren Fletcher to West Brom – Free (2015)
Darren Fletcher was one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most reliable and consistent players. The Scotland international won five Premier League titles during his career at United, evincing his capabilities as a top-level title-winning midfielder.
But an illness limited his playing time and he fell down the pecking order during Louis van Gaal's reign before departing on a free transfer to West Bromwich Albion in the 2015 January window.
Fletcher went on to make 91 consecutive Premier League appearances and became a consistent performer once again – something United perhaps needed at that time.
So Van Gaal may have ultimately regretted the decision to allow him to leave.
7 Ander Herrera to PSG – Free (2019)
Ander Herrera was a passionate five-year servant for Manchester United and a fan favourite because of it. The Spaniard won the club's prestigious Player of the Year award in 2017 but was not offered a contract extension that summer, and departed Old Trafford on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
In an interview with The Telegraph just over a year after his United exit, Herrera admitted he never wanted to leave: "My intention was not to leave the club and I was happy there – as happy as I am now here. It was not a secret.
"I was negotiating for more than one year but I expected more from the board after my third season at the club when I was player of the year.
"They didn’t come to me that summer; they didn’t even call me. And that was very painful for me because I had a feeling that I was giving everything."
The midfielder went on to make just under a century of appearances for the Parisians, winning two league titles and five domestic cups as well as starting the 2020 Champions League final.
6 Jonny Evans to West Brom – £7.2m (2015)
Jonny Evans departed United for West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2015, and within two years at The Hawthorns, the centre-back was subject of a £20m bid from Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola was at the forefront of City's interest and had targeted the Northern Irishman himself, which is about as high praise as you can get given the Spaniard's exceptional record.
Evans was also the centre of interest from Arsenal the previous summer, but the West Midlands club held firm in their desire to keep him.
Leicester City managed to sign the defender in 2018 for just £3.5m after they triggered his relegation release clause, and he again proved his worth with the Foxes, making 152 appearances across one of the club's most successful periods.
He was an integral part of Leicester's FA Cup triumph and back-to-back fifth-place finishes. So perhaps the eight years that followed his United exit provided the club with good reason to rue their decision in 2015.
Evans is now back with the Red Devils, aged 35, having penned a one-year deal earlier this month.
5 Patrice Evra to Juventus – £1.6m (2014)
When United let 33-year-old left-back Patrice Evra depart in the summer of 2014 to Juventus, it certainly wouldn't have struck fans as a transfer blunder.
But Evra displayed that there was plenty of life in the old dog yet, as he went on to win two Serie A and Coppa Italia titles whilst starting in the 2015 Champions League final for the Turin titans.
He also played every minute of every game for France at Euro 2016, helping his nation reach the final before suffering a heartbreaking defeat to Portugal.
The defender clearly still had the legs to play a pivotal role at Old Trafford and could've helped 18-year-old Luke Shaw adapt when he arrived from Southampton that same summer.
Though, it's important to note that his exit was down to family reasons, rather than United forcing him out the door prematurely.
On his United departure, Evra spoke to Tuttosport, via the Mirror: “My wife found it difficult to live in Manchester, I made a decision that wasn't mine."
4 Wilfried Zaha to Crystal Palace – £3.3m (2014)
Wilfried Zaha has been an electrifying top-flight winger ever since his 2014 United exit and was the subject of a mega-money bid from Arsenal in 2019.
The fleet-footed, skilful forward made a whopping 458 appearances across his two spells for Palace, scoring 90 goals whilst laying on 76 assists, so it's fair to say he didn't do too badly following his departure from the Red Devils…
He now plays his football in Turkey with Süper Lig giants Galatasaray, who have signed numerous high-profile players this summer, such as Mauro Icardi, Hakim Ziyech and Tanguy Ndombele, to name a few.
Perhaps United could've done with Zaha over the years, having bought several failed wingers to the club for sizeable fees.
3 Gerard Piqué to Barcelona – £4.3m (2008)
Gerard Piqué left Barcelona in favour of a move to Manchester United as a 17-year-old, but during his four-year stay, he never managed to gain consistent playing time.
The Spanish centre-back made just 23 appearances for the club before Barca re-signed him in 2008, and as they say, the rest is history.
Piqué enjoyed a trophy-laden 15-year spell at the Catalan giants and became one of the best centre-backs in the world for a number of years.
What could have been…
2 Jaap Stam to Lazio – £16.5m (2001)
Jaap Stam won three consecutive Premier League titles at Manchester United and was an integral part of the 1999 treble-winning campaign.
But his Old Trafford career came to an abrupt end when he was controversially sold to Lazio in the summer of 2001 due to a bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson.
The United boss was reportedly upset about the allegations Stam had made in his autobiography, Head to Head, about the club. Both Sir Alex and Stam deny the book had anything to do with his exit and the Scotsman later confirmed the move was fuelled by Lazio's colossal offer.
"At the time, he had just come back from an Achilles injury and we thought he had just lost a little bit. We got the offer from Lazio – £16.5m for a centre-back that was 29. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. But in playing terms, it was a mistake," said Sir Alex.
Nevertheless, regardless of how Stam's departure came about, it was certainly a ruthless end to a trophy-littered three-year stint at the club, with the Red Devils relinquishing their league title that season.
1 Paul Pogba to Juventus – Free (2012)
Probably the most high-profile transfer blunder United have made is… Paul Pogba, who left the club on a free to Juventus in 2012 before re-signing him four years later for a world-record transfer fee worth £93.2m.
What's worse is that the midfielder would leave Old Trafford for free once more last year, despite the eyewatering amount of cash outlaid to sign him in 2016.
But it was his first exit that left the club rueing their decision to let him slip from their grasp, as he quickly emerged as one of the world's best midfielders at Juve and was shortlisted for the 2015 Ballon d'Or, further evincing his world-class ability.
During his initial four years away from United, the Frenchman won four successive Serie A titles and five domestic cups whilst starring in the Champions League, helping his side reach the final in 2015.
Though, it must be noted that United did offer Pogba a new deal prior to his initial exit. The France international told Man United's podcast why he departed in 2012: "It was a very difficult decision for me, with the manager as well and everything with the contract.
"It wasn’t the contract but more like the trust with the manager. Obviously, the manager, for me, is still the best manager in history.
"When they asked me to sign the contract, if I didn’t sign, a lot of things happened. I didn’t train, I went back to training by myself and stuff like this.
"It made me a bit angry and was nothing about the money. It’s just about you’re a player, we believe in you, you believe in you and, me, I just want to play football. That is all I want. I want to play."
