Rio Ferdinand has insisted only three players have been good enough for Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. The Red Devils have made some awful decisions in the post-Sir Alex era and spent over £1 billion on players.
United have not won the Premier League title since Ferguson retired and are enduring one of the club’s worst periods. They finished last season 15th in the league table, their lowest-ever finish.
The current squad has been criticised, with many calling out the signings made in recent years. Ferdinand has given a brutal assessment of the club’s state, particularly of how poorly its acquisitions have performed.
Rio Ferdinand: Only Three Post-Ferguson Man Utd Players Have Been Hits
Ferdinand was one of Ferguson’s best signings, a key player during United’s dominant era in the Premier League. He was one of many shrewd acquisitions made during the Scottish manager’s 21-year reign at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have splashed the cash over the years trying to rebuild a side that is faltering, including breaking the world transfer record with an £89m deal. But the French midfielder failed to be the hit many anticipated, unlike Bruno Fernandes, who has consistently been the main man.
Ferdinand thinks Fernandes is just one of three hits since Ferguson retired. He said back in 2024 while appearing on The Sports Agents: “When you look at the recruitment, I think there’s only three players that I can remember coming in and then going, ‘Okay, they’ve played at a level that you would have expected’.”
He added: “Bruno [Fernandes], Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. The only three players I thought that you go, ‘Actually I saw consistently what I expected to see from them.”
Fernandes joined United from Sporting CP in January 2020 for £68m and has put in world-class performances at Old Trafford. The 31-year-old has appeared 310 times, scoring 103 goals and providing 95 assists.
The Portuguese playmaker remains the most important player for the Red Devils this season, with five goals and eight assists in 18 league games. He took the captain’s armband in the summer of 2023 and has won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
Reports claim Fernandes is considering leaving United amid their disappointing campaign and the club’s failure to build a team capable of competing at the highest level. Bayern Munich are linked with the midfielder who will have a year left on his contract in the summer.
Ferdinand explained why he feels other signings haven’t reached expectations:
“Everyone else just fell well short. For whatever reason it is, they just haven’t hit a standard you expect them to come in for. There’s no value in them in what you expect. So they have to get to the bottom of that.”
INEOS took over the club’s sporting operations in February 2024 and have spent over £200m on signings. The likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Mathues Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, Manuel Ugarte and Patrick Dorgu have arrived during their time in charge.
Were Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic That Successful?
United’s name alone can tempt world-class talent to join the club, and that helped seal Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s signature in the summer of 2016. The Swedish striker was entering the twilight of his career but still proving to be one of Europe’s most potent goalscorers.
Ibrahimovic bagged 29 goals and 10 assists in 53 games during his time at Old Trafford, including a brace in a 3-2 win over Southampton in the 2016-17 League Cup final. He struggled with a ligament injury in his sophomore campaign which ruled him out of the club’s Europa League win.
The Swede left in March 2018, three years before Cristiano Ronaldo made a stunning return to the Theater of Dreams in the summer of 2021. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s first spell with the Red Devils was one of the best the Premier League has ever seen.
Ronaldo was coming into the latter stages of his career when he returned and joined a struggling United side. This led to several issues on and off the pitch but he fared well in his first season, posting 24 goals in 39 games across competitions.
The Portuguese forward’s second spell ended unceremoniously after he was reduced to a bit-part role under Erik ten Hag. He showed clear signs of regression but couldn’t accept less game time, and this led to him mutually agreeing to leave the club in the winter of 2022.
