Manchester United has long been a graveyard for elite talent, so their players’ market values must have nosedived over time… right?
Well, the combined Transfermarkt value of every current Manchester United first-team player when they were signed totals €681.3m (£580.82m). Their current combined value is €634.25m (£540.71m). And United actually paid out a whopping €839.78m (£715.93m) in transfer fees for them.
So yes, United overpaid for most of their squad, and more than a few have depreciated in value since arriving at Old Trafford. Colour us surprised. Here’s the full breakdown, player by player.
Andre Onana
Transfer fee: €50.2m
Market value in July 2023: €35m
Market value now: €32m
Onana arrived at Manchester United with a stellar reputation, widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Less than two years later, he’s now seen as a liability and someone Ruben Amorim has to replace.
Despite his decline in form and perception, his market value has dropped by just €3m.
Altay Bayindir
Transfer fee: €5m
Market value in September 2023: €11m
Market value now: €10m
Another dodgy goalkeeper, Bayindir’s value has dropped by a solitary €1m. That’s pretty generous.
Tom Heaton
Transfer fee: Free
Market value in July 2021: €1m
Market value now: €250k
This sort of market value discrepancy is exactly what’s wrong with Manchester United Football Club. Shameful.
Leny Yoro
Transfer fee: €62m
Market value in July 2024: €50m
Market value now: €55m
If United wanted to beat Real Madrid to Yoro’s signature, they had cough up €62m to Lille there and then, with the Spanish club and French teenager happy to wait for a Bosman in 2025.
It was a questionable deal given his contract situation but United fans were buzzing to ‘beat’ Real Madrid to a genuine wonderkid. His value has risen slightly, probably because he’s now tied down to a long-term deal.
Lisandro Martinez
Transfer fee: €57.37m
Market value in July 2022: €32m
Market value now: €45m
United overpaid for Martinez, but at least his market value has risen since his transfer to the Premier League.
Matthijs de Ligt
Transfer fee: €45m
Market value in August 2024: €65m
Market value now: €40m
In under a year, De Ligt’s value has plummeted from €65m to €40m. Why? We’re not entirely sure. It probably should have been around €40m to begin with. Oh well, good for the narrative, innit?
Harry Maguire
Transfer fee: €87m
Market value in August 2019: €50m
Market value now: €15m
Maguire turned 32 in March and if he leaves this summer, it’ll likely be for around €15m (£12.7m), with trimming the wage bill the club’s priority.
Everyone knew from day one United overpaid, with English tax inflating his value. Maguire hasn’t been awful – he’s often been a scapegoat -but €87m? Ludicrous.
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Victor Lindelof
Transfer fee: €35m
Market value in July 2017: €22m
Market value now: €10m
Out of contract this summer, Lindelof never looked like a €35m defender. Not a disaster, not a success. His value has more than halved in eight years and he’s hardly ancient at 30.
Ayden Heaven
Transfer fee: €1.8m
Market value in January 2025: €300k
Market value now: €1.5m
Heaven has looked very impressive but remains sidelined with a foot injury. We have a feeling his market value will soon overtake the €1.8m the Red Devils paid to sign him from Arsenal.
Jonny Evans
Transfer fee: Free
Market value in July 2023: €2m
Market value now: €1.5m
Should be worth more, IMO.
Patrick Dorgu
Transfer fee: €30m
Market value in January 2025: €20m
Market value now: €25m
Dorgu’s value has increased by €5m after four months at Old Trafford, even if many remain unimpressed. Transfermarkt reckons United overpaid by €10m. Standard.
Luke Shaw
Transfer fee: €37.5m
Market value in July 2014: €13m
Market value now: €16m
Shaw joined United as one of Europe’s most promising full-backs. Injuries have plagued his career and capped his value, which peaked at €42m in 2023 and has since fallen to €16m.
He’s only 29, but feels older. Still a good player when fit – but that’s the problem.
He has six years on Bruno Fernandes’ United career but the Portuguese has made two more appearances.
Diogo Dalot
Transfer fee: €22m
Market value in July 2018: €15m
Market value now: €35m
Dalot has been in England since 2018, yet the jury is still out. One week he looks amazing and the next he seems out of his depth. Wing-back isn’t the 26-year-old’s strongest position, that’s for sure.
Dalot is a better player now than he was in 2018, and the market value reflects that.
Noussair Mazraoui
Transfer fee: €15m
Market value in August 2024: €30m
Market value now: €32m
A rare United bargain. His market value has climbed after a productive debut season.
Manuel Ugarte
Transfer fee: €50m
Market value in August 2024: €45m
Market value now: €50m
Ugarte is now worth the money United paid for him… so we’re told.
Casemiro
Transfer fee: €70.65m
Market value in August 2022: €40m
Market value now: €12m
After failing to convince his former Ajax player Frenkie de Jong to join, Erik ten Hag turned his attention to a different type of defensive midfielder in Casemiro. There were doubts over the transfer fee, salary and contract length considering the Brazilian’s age at the time (30) but he proved to be worth it in his first season. It all went downhill after that and now Sir Jim Ratcliffe is desperately trying to get his colossal salary off his exorbitant wage bill.
His current market value is not completely down to his age, but also the fact the football appears to have left him. Although it does appear to have unexpectedly returned recently.
Christian Eriksen
Transfer fee: Free
Market value in July 2022: €20m
Market value now: €6m
United beat plenty of competition to land Eriksen on a free transfer after he spent six months at Brentford. It was a coup, for sure.
Bruno Fernandes
Transfer fee: €65m
Market value in January 2020: €60m
Market value now: €55m
The 30-year-old Manchester United captain has been world class in the Premier League. The dip in market value is a function of time, age and probably contract length, not performance.
Alejandro Garnacho
Transfer fee: €456k
Market value in October 2020: €0
Market value now: €45m
An actual United transfer masterclass. Bought for peanuts, now worth tens of millions. Sell-on profit will be pure, glorious profit.
Mason Mount
Transfer fee: €64.2m
Market value in July 2023: €60m
Market value now: €28m
Just as they were at Chelsea, injuries have been a huge problem for Mount at United.
There was still promise when he joined the club but the general consensus was that the Red Devils overpaid (by more than €4.2m) considering he was in the final year of his Blues contract.
Amad Diallo
Transfer fee: €21.3m
Market value in January 2021: €15m
Market value now: €40m
Amad has been one of Amorim’s standout players and recently returned from injury against Athletic Bilbao.
Joshua Zirkzee
Transfer fee: €42.5m
Market value in July 2024: €50m
Market value now: €35m
It turns out that United got Zirkzee for below his market value but in the most Manchester United way imaginable, they still managed to pay Bologna more than his €40m release clause.
Rasmus Hojlund
Transfer fee: €77.8m
Market value in August 2023: €45m
Market value now: €45m
United wildly overpaid, but at least his value hasn’t tanked. Yet.
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