Former club captain says United have been “cheated” on transfers by other clubs
Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has criticised the club’s recruitment decisions over the past decade, saying they have been “cheated” by other clubs.
“I think sometimes with the salaries and the money we’ve paid to certain players, we’ve been cheated,” Vidic said on The Overlap. “That for me is the problem.”
“Recruitment is the biggest thing. It’s about bringing in football players, coaches, medical staff, and I think that they should be careful with what kind of people they bring into certain places.”
“To be at Manchester United you have to be one of the best in the market, and you have to invest in that, maybe even more than in the players and I think that we haven’t done that well.”
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, United have failed to mount a serious Premier League title challenge. Vidic said that the departure of chief executive David Gill at the same time as Ferguson also seriously damaged the way United conduct football business.
“My feeling is that Sir Alex Ferguson left but so did David Gill as well, that’s two big personalities who had been with the club for 25 years,” said Vidic. “They’re difficult to replace and Ed Woodward taking that position, I think was above his knowledge and his capability. That’s my opinion.
“Obviously he did fantastic for the club in terms of the marketing and bringing money in, but dealing with agents and players, that role needs someone with experience.”
Woodward’s time at the club coincided with a string of expensive transfer failures and a struggle to close deals in the transfer market. Vidic believes one major flaw was United’s failure to involve former players in decision-making positions.
“Even having some ex-footballers around to understand how the players think and how the agent thinks [would have helped],” said Vidic. “At the time, the club didn’t help themselves in terms of not bringing in the knowledge of ex-players like [Gary Neville], Paul Scholes, or Ryan Giggs, someone who has experienced talking with agents.”
