After leaving Old Trafford, this Manchester United reject has played incredibly well for other clubs.
Manchester United had a reputation for being tight with money and playing within their own means, particularly during the illustrious tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager.
In 1991, Peter Schmeichel signed a contract with the Red Devils for a meagre £625k. Meanwhile, in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo, then just 18 years old, paid £12.24 million to join the Theatre of Dreams.
Now, it’s increasingly more difficult to get the top talents in on a cheap deal – inflated transfer fees often see clubs pay way over the odds in an attempt to improve their side.
For Manchester United at the time, signing Memphis Depay off the back of an outstanding season in his native Netherlands seemed a no-brainer.
Scoring 22 goals in the Eredivisie for previous employers PSV before relocating and still only 21 years of age, £31m for his services didn’t feel like a bad deal.
But, it’s a transfer that saw Depay fail to perform on the big stage for the Red Devils and left Man United ultimately regretting the deal altogether.
When did Manchester United sign Memphis Depay?
In the summer of 2015, Depay agreed terms to join Man United – Dutch manager at the time Louis Van Gaal eager to get the attacker in at Old Trafford.
Scoring 50 times for PSV over 124 games, Depay was a wanted man before his ill-fated transfer to Man United. The 5 foot 10 forward was subject to interest from the likes of Tottenham before the Red Devils got the deal over the line.
Following the same career footsteps as previous Red Devils greats Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam before him in swapping the Eredivisie for England, Depay’s time at Old Trafford wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful.
How many goals did Memphis Depay score for Man Utd?
He would manage a lacklustre two Premier League goals in total for the Red Devils before being shipped out to Lyon in France, only afforded 20 minutes of game time for Man United at the start of the 2016/17 campaign as a frozen-out figure.
The 88-time Netherlands international would add a further five goals to his Man United resume in Cup competitions – scoring against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League – but it’s fair to say Depay’s time in a Red Devils strip was an underwhelming and disappointing one.
A year and a half after moving out to Manchester, Depay was on the move again – joining Ligue 1 giants Lyon, his time with Man United rocky to say the least but an opportunity to bounce back in France.
Where is Memphis Depay now?
Depay did just that after exiting the Theatre of Dreams, going on to have a very successful time in the French top division and elsewhere.
He would go on to make 178 appearances in total for the Ligue 1 outfit, alternating between playing down the channels and as a striker – scoring an impressive 76 goals, Depay’s ruthlessness returning after a barren time in England.
He would also go on to play for Barcelona, netting 14 times in La Liga for Barca before Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid swooped in for the Dutchman where his success story in Spain has continued.
In total, the ex-Man United man has registered 96 goals and 57 assists ever since he waved his short time at Old Trafford goodbye.
As a result, he has outperformed players such as Jadon Sancho and Antony who continue to struggle in England when unburdened from the pressures of the Premier League.
Sancho is now exiled from the squad having scored just 12 times in 82 outings for the Premier League giants. Last term he only found the net on seven occasions in 41 outings, compared to Depay’s five, albeit in only 13 games.
The Dutchman significantly outperformed United’s mega-money signing the season before, bagging 13 goals in the 2021/22 term. Sancho, comparatively, could only manage five strikes.
To suggest it was a mistake to let him go would be farfetched, but clearly, it highlights how poor their English wide man has been since joining from Dortmund.