3 hyped attackers who flopped at Manchester United

Manchester United has over the course of their rich history produced the best in the business. Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney found their stride at United. These are classic examples of players who were shaped by United's philosophy and tradition for winning. Sir Alex Ferguson had all the qualities of an elite manager and brought unrivalled success to the club.

He is the one who orchestrated the moves of Ronaldo and David De Gea to the club. Both players went on to make significant contribution to United's success in their careers. Despite the countless examples of players that prospered at United, there are those that found it tough when they made the switch to Manchester.

The Premier League has been known to present a tough test even for some of the biggest who thrived in other leagues. This is because there is a lot of physicality and pace in the game. Match officiating is also known to be different as tackles that would have been deemed dangerous in other leagues are considered fair in the Premier League.

As a Manchester United player, fans expect the very best performance and will not relent regardless of the quality of opposition. Players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to Manchester in 2016 under a lot of pressure to perform. The signing was highly criticised given that he was 34 years old coming into a highly tough league. He silenced critics by scoring 28 goals in his debut season with the club.

Not all players who joined United enjoyed that kind of success at the first time of asking. Some of these players were big money moves and expected to build on their impressive careers established elsewhere. These three players did not perform to expectation and left the Old Trafford faithful with a bitter pill to swallow.

#3 Angel Di Maria

Di Maria failed to impress at United

Regarded as one of the most technically gifted left-footed players, Di Maria already had a stellar career with Real Madrid when he signed for United. On August 26, 2014 he was signed for nearly 60 million pounds, a British transfer record at the time. Di Maria wore the famous number seven jersey which was donned by other famous United legends such as Ronaldo and David Beckham.

This was one of the biggest transfers for United since Ferguson's retirement from management. United were looking to rebuild by bringing on some big time stars and maintain their status as one of England's best teams.

The Argentine winger struggled to make an impact for United and managed only four goals in all competitions despite a much-hyped transfer. He was later sold to PSG after only one season with the club.

#2 Radamel Falcao

This was an all too familiar look for Falcao at United

On September 1, 2014, Falcao was signed by United on a season-long loan. This turned out to a disaster spell. Here was the ruthless striker who electrified the world at Atletico Madrid scoring 70 goals in 91 appearances only a few seasons back thrown into the gruelling Premier League. He was signed from Monaco shortly after recovering from a severe six-month injury lay off.

The Red Devils' fans were ecstatic and looked forward to glorious moments from their number 9. The prospect of him combining with fellow South American Di Maria was tantalising on paper. Like Di Maria, Falcao seemed out of form and struggled to even get shots at goal let alone scoring. His dip in form saw Van Gaal momentarily take him out of the first team picture.

United opted not to make his signing permanent after one season. Falcao scored only four goals in 29 appearances for United.The Premier League proved unkind to him and he was labelled as one of the worst signings of the season.

#1 Bebe

Bebe is one of United's all time worst signings

On August 16, 2010, he was signed by United despite Ferguson not sanctioning the move. Carlos Queiroz, Ferguson's assistant, made the recommendation. Ferguson had a good eye for talent and it was no surprise that Bebe flopped at United.

In three seasons with the club, he failed to impress and was sent out on two loan spells at Besiktas and Rio Ave. All in all, Bebe scored two competitive goals and managed only seven appearances for the club.

The Portuguese prospect, who was touted to be a hit did not live up to the billing and has been regarded as United's worst signing of all time. The Portuguese international could not adapt to life at a club that naturally demands nothing but the best from all players.

It is no surprise that as a forward, 28-year-old Bebe has only netted 33 times in over 200 career appearances. He remains to be one of the players that United fans would want to forget.