Over the last few seasons, Manchester United have splashed the cash to buy world-class players, including the then world-record transfer fee to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus.
That wasn’t always the case at Old Trafford, however, as the English club promoted from their famed youth academy, while also buying players at cheap prices who went on to become greats.
It is almost impossible for Manchester United to buy players at a bargain these days as clubs inflate prices of their players when the Red Devils are negotiating with them.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 bargain buys by Manchester United in the summer transfer window:
#5 Javier Hernández
Javier Hernandez was picked out of nowhere after United scouts tracked him for months and he was signed in 2010 for a fee of around €7.5 million.
The Mexican had an immediate impact at the club, scoring 20 goals in his very first season. He played four full seasons at the club before moving to Real Madrid on loan and then moving to Bayer Leverkusen on a permanent deal.
The striker was sold to the German club for around £7.3 million, and ended his United career with 59 goals from 157 appearances.
#4 Park Ji-sung
Park Ji-sung is probably one of the most underrated players to have played for Manchester United and in the Premier League, as the South Korean midfielder offered versatility, work-rate, and important goals and assists in a fantastic Manchester United side.
The midfielder joined the club in 2005 for just £4 million from PSV Eindhoven and went on to have seven good seasons for the club, making over 200 appearances for the club, while winning four league titles and one Champions League.
#3 Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar joined Manchester United at the latter stages of his career for a fee of just around £2 million from Fulham at the age of 34 and went on to have six great seasons for the club, winning four Premier League titles and one Champions League.
The Dutchman is probably one of the best goalkeepers in the last two decades of the Premier League with Sir Alex Ferguson himself calling van der Sar the best goalkeeper to play for Manchester United after Peter Schmeichel.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo will go down in Manchester United folklore as one of their most important and loved players in their history, and the journey began back in 2003, when he faced off against his future United teammates with Sporting Lisbon and mesmerised them, which forced manager Sir Alex Ferguson to put a bid for the 18-year-old for a fee of £12.24 million.
After taking a few seasons to get used to the intensity and the physical nature of the Premier League, Ronaldo found his groove and helped United to three back-to-back Premier League titles and one Champions League title before departing to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of £80 million – a profit of around £67 million for Manchester United.
#1 Ole Gunnar Solskjær
The current Manchester United boss was also brought in from obscurity, having signed for the club from Molde in Norway in 1996 for a fee of around €2.5 million.
The Norwegian was a fantastic goalscorer, most notably coming off the bench to score crucial goals for the club, while becoming a fan favourite for his great energy, work-rate as well.
His last-minute goal to win the 1999 Champions League final helped him become one of the most loved players in United history.
He ended his United career with 126 goals from 366 appearances, and then became part of the United coaching set-up, before returning to the club in 2018 as interim manager and then the permanent manager of the club.