United have spent countless bucks on some of the best players in European football, but these transfers don't always work. Like any club, The team at Old Trafford has struggled to get the best out of the undoubtedly talented players, but ultimately saw them shine elsewhere. There are some who have suffered outright defeats at Manchester United but have managed to turn their careers around after leaving Premier League teams.
Diego Fran
United rarely pick the right players from South American football, and Diego Fran is a perfect example of how all this went wrong. Fran joined Manchester United in 2002 for a whopping £6.9 million, but scored just eight goals in 17 games before leaving Manchester United two years later to join Villarreal. However, after Fran struggled in English football, he enjoyed unprecedented success in Spain. Before Atletico Madrid bought him for around £19m in 2007, the Uruguay international scored 58 goals for the Yellow Submarine in 123 games. Fran has performed even better at Atletico, scoring 96 goals and assisting 31 times in 198 games and performing well in his career in Spain, winning the 2004 International Toto Cup and the 2010 Europa League.
Peron
Juan Sebastian Belon joined Manchester United for £28.1 million in 2000, making headlines as the most expensive transfer in English football history. Although this record has been broken several times, Perón's reputation in England has not improved in the slightest due to perone's unfortunate experience at Old Trafford. Despite a number of fantastic performances at the club, Perón never adapted to the rhythm of English football and was considered an expensive loser before being sold to Chelsea for £15 million. The stamford bridge experience was also bleak, but Veron eventually recovered to his best, being loaned back to Italy to help Inter win serie A titles in 2006 and win the Coppa Italia for two consecutive seasons.
Di Maria
Like his compatriot Perón, when Di Maria came to Manchester United, there were huge expectations of him, as he had already been successful at Real Madrid and the club had paid a huge fee for his signing. Despite a great start, Di Maria did not fare well in Louis van Gaal's side, with the Dutchman asking him to play in a number of different positions, including as a pivot striker. When his time at the club ended, the Argentina international scored just four goals and 12 assists in 32 games. In Paris, the winger has been an important part of Paris Saint-Germain, having so far won four league titles and five French Cups and helped his side reach the Champions League final.
Lukaku
Chelsea fans may be outraged that Lukaku is currently not scoring, and in 2018, Manchester United fans were equally angry at the expensive striker as he didn't seem to find the chance to score. Lukaku joined Old Trafford in 2017 for £76m, but the striker has scored just 42 goals in 96 games and has struggled to offer anything more than a traditional point-grabbing striker. Two years later, the Belgium international moved to Italy to play for Inter, where he grew stronger. Lukaku has been a huge talisman for the Serie A giants over the past two seasons, scoring 64 goals and assisting 16 times for the club in 95 games and, crucially, he played a key role in the club's first league title in 11 years.
Memphis-Depay
Netherlands international Memphis Depay moved to Manchester United for £30 million in the summer of 2015, which most people thought would light up the club's wings and become the next generation of superstars in Dutch football. But that's not how things worked out. In his two years at the club, Depay scored just seven goals and six assists in 53 games for Manchester United, and before joining Lyon in 2017, he was considered a losing trade for the club. However, at Lyon, Depay quickly returned to his form in Eredivisie, where the striker scored 76 goals and assisted 55 times in 178 games in four seasons in Ligue 1. That gave him the chance to join Barca last summer, but he was in the same situation at Camp Nou as Old Trafford and it seems like he's not a good fit for the big club.