Daniel James has become a special name in the recent history of Manchester United. He has been the only player to join the club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and then left with a transfer fee higher than the club had spent on recruitment.
Having joined Swansea for £15 million in 2019, James was sold to Leeds just two years later for £25 million. For Man United, this reality exposes a paradox. The £25.7 million Napoli paid to recruit Scott McTominay a year ago was their most expensive sale in more than a decade.
Rare exceptions come from failed contracts. Angel Di Maria joined PSG in 2015 for £44.3 million, much lower than the £59.7 million that Man United paid to Real Madrid just a year earlier.
The same thing happened to Romelu Lukaku, when the Belgian striker moved to Inter Milan in 2019 for £68 million, less than the £75 million fee that M.U spent to bring him from Everton.
The 2025 summer transfer window is less than two weeks away from ending on September 1, but the "Red Devils" continue to face a difficult problem: liquidating players. The inherent limitations in player sales are directly threatening their squad restructuring plans.
Although he always insists that he needs to sell players to balance the budget and avoid the risk of violating financial rules, Man United has not yet earned any money from transfers. In contrast, they have spent nearly £200 million to bring in four new signings, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Diego Leon.
Marcus Rashford's loan deal to Barcelona helped reduce the huge salary of £325,000/week, while the small indirect deals from Anthony Elanga and Alvaro Carreras only brought a symbolic figure.
In fact, Old Trafford has yet to record any player leaving in a sell-off form this summer. The list to be liquidated includes Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia to Rasmus Hojlund.
In the ideal scenario, Man United expect to earn about 120 million pounds from selling players. But as the deadline approaches, the number could be at half, as the teams are well aware of the Red Devils' weaknesses.
Once again, Man United exposed their inherent weaknesses in the transfer market. They pay players too high, and are forced to pay when selling. Even the underprication of "homegrown" products and losses from new mid-range contracts is a factor that shapes their wasteful transfer picture.
This summer, Liverpool easily sold Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich and made a profit of £10 million compared to the £50 million fee paid to Porto in early 2022. Not stopping there, the reigning Premier League champions earned an additional £70 million by selling 4 players, including Jarell Quansah, Ben Doak, Caoimhin Kelleher and Tyler Morton.
Liverpool even showed their quirkiness in financial management when receiving £10 million from Real Madrid to Trent Alexander-Arnold just a month before his contract at Anfield expired.
Last year, The Kop also earned £40 million from Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg - two players who have contributed almost nothing but still brought in a significant fee.
Manchester City also far surpassed Man United in the ability to take advantage of player value. This summer, with James McAtee, Yan Couto and Maximo Perrone alone, City brought in 60 million pounds.
Pep Guardiola's team has long been transformed into a financial instrument. Julian Alvarez was bought from River Plate for £14 million in 2022, then sold to Atletico Madrid for £65 million in just two seasons. Also in the summer of 2024, they earned an additional £20 million from Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
In contrast, United have hardly seen a single deal in recent times that shows them how to capitalise on player departures.
Scott McTominay - who became a phenomenon in Napoli last season, nominated for the Ballon d'Or after helping the team win the Scudetto - was sold for only about 25 million pounds.
Coming to Liverpool, the difference becomes apparent. Young talent Ben Doak has not proven much yet, but has forced Bournemouth to spend 20 million pounds with 5 million pounds in add-ons.
Anthony Elanga is another proof. The winger left Old Trafford for Nottingham Forest in 2023 for £20 million. However, just 2 years later, Newcastle had to spend up to 55 million pounds to own him.
Dean Henderson, who also parted ways with Man United in the same transfer window that year, joined Crystal Palace for an initial fee of £15 million. The England goalkeeper has since helped Palace win the FA Cup, while Man United are still struggling to find a reliable option in goal.
