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Manchester United haven't been good enough since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club. Have you heard this before? And how many times? The Red Devils' fall from grace in the last couple of years has been nothing short of a disappointment and there are many reasons that explain why the expectations at Old Trafford have diminished rapidly.
The biggest problem for the Red Devils has been their inability to replace players and this has continued since Sir Alex Ferguson left. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, etc have never been replaced.
The Manchester United board hasn't been spending money in the right places and that can be seen from United's inability to sign a world class defender, which they have been needing for some time now.
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The proper lack of structure and direction at Manchester United has really hurt the managers who have taken over since Alex Ferguson and one can only hope that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is backed in the summer.
Over the last couple of years, Manchester United have had some world class players who have retired at the club, but some have got transferred when they shouldn't have been. So, in this slideshow, we take a look at the 5 players who the Red Devils shouldn't have sold:
#5 Memphis Depay
Depay was signed by Louis van Gaal and was given the number 7 straightaway but after Van Gaal's departure, the new manager Jose Mourinho never fancied Memphis and he sold him in his first season in January.
But next season, Mourinho decided to sign Alexis Sanchez and that is what seems strange as Mourinho sold Depay due to the presence of too many left wingers at the club but he decided to sign the Chilean anyway.
To be honest, if Depay stayed at Manchester United, chances are he would have been performing for the Red Devils and they wouldn't have wanted someone like Sanchez. Instead, the money used to pay Sanchez could have been used to sign a right winger, the position where the Red Devils genuinely lack quality.
Nevertheless, Depay got transferred to Lyon and he has been tearing it up in the Ligue 1 since.
#4 Rafael da Silva
Another player sold by the Red Devils for no reason whatsoever was the Brazilian, Rafael da Silva. He is a right-back by trade and that is a position in which Manchester United lack quality and depth.
He was sold by Van Gaal when he didn't have any right-backs in his team, so, he decided to convert Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young as full-backs from wingers, which is coming to haunt United currently.
Someone like Rafael could have been an asset to Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and he definitely would have been their first choice full-back. Manchester United haven't had a genuine full-back since the Brazilian, so just think how valuable he would have been if he stayed.
#3 Daley Blind
Daley Blind was another player sold by Mourinho which he shouldn't have. Manchester United's defensive problems are not anything new and selling the player who seems to be the best of the lot present at the club doesn't seem to be a good idea. Isn't it?
But for some reason, Mourinho decided to sell Blind instead of Marcos Rojo or Phil Jones, which infuriated the Old Trafford faithful and rightly so. See what he is doing at Ajax with his calmness and skill at the back this season.
Solskjaer would have loved to have someone like Blind at his disposal right now and this was another transfer decision which really didn't make any sense.
#2 Angel Di Maria
Di Maria was at Manchester United for just one season and his departure was due to his fallout with Louis van Gaal in the former's very first season. Di Maria is a world class player and everybody knows that, but I just think that Van Gaal could have handled the situation better at that time as you really don't want one of your better players to leave.
But that didn't happen and since his switch to Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine has been showing just what he is capable of in France. With United lacking a genuine right-winger and a playmaker, Solskjaer would have loved to have him at Old Trafford.
Even Mourinho admitted in his first season at the club that he would have never sold someone like a Di Maria but it is what it is.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
This is the transfer which most Manchester United fans talk about and there are two reasons for it, one - Ronaldo was sold when he was the best player in the world, and second - Manchester United never replaced him.
The second reason is what has defined United in the last couple of years. The Red Devils have not been able to replace their best players and since David Beckham and Ronaldo, United haven't had a genuine right winger which just tells you the lack of structure at the club.
I don't blame Sir Alex Ferguson for the Portuguese's departure but I think that the United board could have done better to keep their best player. But that didn't happen and now Manchester United are in dire need to add some characters such as Ronaldo.
