Former United left-back’s move from Benfica to Real Madrid is a situation that crystallises the Premier League side’s lack of a proper structure
Manchester United supporters are, no doubt, aware that the club spent £25m in January on the signing of left wing-back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce. It will also not be lost on them that the club are struggling with finances and if there was no urgent need for Dorgu, that cash could have been directed to other parts of the squad desperately begging for investment.
Meanwhile, over in Iberia, Benfica are about to sell former United youngster Alvaro Fernandez Carreras to Real Madrid for €50m. It’s the kind of awkward situation that has come to define United’s post-Ferguson era: a lack of foresight and succession planning that always leaves them scrambling, while a player once in their ranks thrives elsewhere.
Footballing memories can be short but let’s look back a little bit. Just how on earth did this happen?
Carreras arrived at Manchester United from Real Madrid’s academy in 2020 alongside Alejandro Garnacho, but unlike with the Argentine, the pathway to the first team was blocked for Carreras. In his position, United had Luke Shaw and Alex Telles competing for a starting sport, with Telles’s arrival from FC Porto having brought out the best in Shaw.
When Shaw faltered, the club signed Tyrell Malacia under Erik ten Hag. There was always someone just ahead, and Carreras was never able to break through.
Despite an impressive stint in the U21s and a standout pre-season in 2023, United chose more established signings rather than youth promotion in certain positions. Injuries to Shaw and Malacia opened a door in August 2023, but the club brought in the more trusted option Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, and then loaned Carreras out to Granada on the same day. In January 2024 he was recalled from Granada, but only so that he could be sold to Benfica for €6m that window.
Benfica gave Carreras what United could not: minutes. And he improved rapidly under Roger Schmidt and then Bruno Lage. Having played week in, week out for a full season of top-flight Portuguese football, his game has now matured and Real Madrid are willing to pay €50m for his services.
There are some in Spain who feel that the fee is inflated, but Madrid believe his tactical flexibility will be a key fit in Xabi Alonso’s system. It also reflects highly on the Spaniard that senior figures at Valdebebas are happy to pay that amount for him.
The irony is inescapable. United’s scattergun approach to recruitment and lack of adequate club structure meant there was no system in place to either trust the player and give him minutes, or offer him a strategic loan spell to hone his skills elsewhere and then return to Old Trafford. Carreras wanted to play for United – even as of last December when he told The Athletic that his “main objective is to return to United and make a place for myself there”. But United failed to make it happen.
No club can thrive without the right systems in place. Manchester United’s league position says so.
