Former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has savaged the Red Devils’ progress since his departure in 2022.
It comes after United secured an impressive 3-0 win over Atletico Bilbao in the Europa League semi-final first leg which has put them in the driving seat to advance to the final later this month.
Though, the dramatic European campaign belies their dismal efforts back home, as well as disappointing recent seasons. United sit 14th in the top flight and are on course to record their worst-ever Premier League campaign.
United boss Ruben Amorim – whose preferred play style requires three central defenders and two wing-backs – has been forced to rely on players signed by his predecessor Erik ten Hag. And the recruits were acquired at great expense.
As Rangnick had no issue stressing, the club has forked out in excess of £600million since the Austrian’s exit. Rangnick, who famously said the club needed ‘open heart surgery’ during his six-month stint, quoted a figure as high as £750m in his scathing assessment of his former club’s current plight.
‘In the end. That a few basic things need to be changed and since then 700 or if not £750m has been spent on new players,’ he told Canal + Austria. ‘And in the table they are even significantly worse than back then.
Former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has savaged the Red Devils’ progress since his departure in 2022
Ruben Amorim has struggled to make the current crop fit for his preferred and unique 3-4-3 system
United spent more than £600million on new signings under Erik ten Hag, with many failing to impress
‘They could actually, with a win in the Europa League, still save this season. Because then they will be in the Champions League.
‘Everything else would be a disappointment, and it will be interesting to see what will happen. They have signed a coach in the middle of the season who plays with a three or a five-back, and the squad was built based on a four-back system.
‘This is what you see when you see them play, especially in Premier League games against the opponents against which Manchester United normally has to win.
‘Sure, in the Europa League, they have – usually with the result against Lyon, you are eliminated – they have turned it around. And of course, the stadium had a huge effect.’
In the years that have followed his departure, Rangnick’s statements while at the club have proved particularly prescient.
Not only did the club fork out massive fees on the likes of Antony, Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro under Ten Hag for a combined fee of £218m, but they continued to hand out huge wages.
So dire is the situation at Old Trafford that minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe admitted that brutal cuts to spending were required to avoid the club going bust. In March, he revealed that United still owe money on Jadon Sancho, Casemiro, Antony, Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana, admitting that some of them are ‘overpaid’ or not good enough to play for the club.
‘This summer, we will ‘buy’ Antony, we’ll ‘buy’ Sancho, we’ll ‘buy’ Casemiro, we’ll ‘buy’ Martinez, we’ll ‘buy’ Hojlund, we’ll ‘buy’ Onana, and they’re all about £17m each,’ he said.
In March, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sensationally claimed that the club was running out of money
‘If we buy nobody, we’re buying those players. It’s not a light switch (that can be turned off).
‘These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.
‘For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.
‘Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mold the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time.’
The constraints have made it difficult for Amorim to craft a squad capable of effectively carrying out his rather unique requirements.
The Portuguese was able to make just one first-team signing in January and brought in young defender Patrick Dorgu from Leece for £29.4m. The Denmark international has made a decent start to life at the club and played a part in their recent win in Bilbao.
Rangnick’s assessment that United were favourites for their clash against the LaLiga side bore out in the first-leg result. The 3-0 win, courtesy of Casemiro’s headers and a Fernandes brace, has given the side a real chance of salvaging something from their miserable season.
Qualification for the Champions League, achieved by winning the Europa League, would yield a windfall in the region of £80m that would go a long way to easing the financial pressures at the club.
Rasmus Hojlund, who was acquired from Atalanta for £72million, has struggled for goals and could be sold this summer
Brazilian winger Antony is thriving out on loan at Real Betis but floundered at Old Trafford after his £86m signing
‘Nobody expected this result but it’s not done,’ said Amorim. ‘The same result can happen at Old Trafford, and we need to be prepared.
‘There is no away goals (rule) so anything can change and that is my message to the players.
‘I think they have to think about the second leg, and they have to think more about the first 20 minutes than the rest of the game. We struggled a lot at the start but the goal and red card changed the game.’
