decorativeed
Full Member
After reading thread after thread where people give all kinds of random figures, argue about who has spent more during what period, whose owners have underinvested the most in their squads etc, I thought I'd start this thread so that it can be instantly consulted and put a stop to these repetitive, misinformed debates.
Often, people use Transfer League as the source for their arguments. There are a couple of problems with that: the fact that some transfers are missing; the fact that he seems to choose the fees he prefers and disregard others; the fact that so few transfers have any reliable source listed; finally, the fact that he uses the "official" season start and end dates when most people would consider any transfers that go through after the last match of the season count towards the following season.
I'll cover the whole of the Alex Ferguson era at United - 1986-present. Sales and purchases will all be included, some free transfers in and out and youth team promotions will not be included for sake of brevity. My sources for all United transfers can be found on my blog: Manchester United Transfers
Manchester United F.C.
1986/87
Spent:
14/10/86 Liam O'Brien £0.05m from Shamrock Rovers (signed by Ron Atkinson)
Total spent: £0.05m
Received:
1/7/86 Mark Hughes £2.3m to Barcelona (sold by Ron Atkinson)
15/8/86 Alan McLaughlin £0 to Swindon Town (sold by Ron Atkinson)
24/8/86 Mark Dempsey £0.025m to Sheffield United (sold by Ron Atkinson)
25/9/86 Fraser Dibgy £0.032m to Swindon Town (sold by Ron Atkinson)
14/1/87 Peter Barnes £0.03m to Manchester City
1/2/87 Mark Higgins £0.01m to Bury
26/3/87 Martin Russell £0.025m to Leicester City
Total Received: £2.422m
United net spent: (minus) -£2.372m
Running Gross Total: £0.05m
Running Net Total: (minus) -£2.372m
________________________________________________________________
1987/88
Spent:
9/7/87 Viv Anderson £0.25m from Arsenal
30/7/87 Brian McClair £0.85m from Celtic
17/12/87 Steve Bruce £0.825m from Norwich City
3/5/88 Paul Dalton £0.035m from Brandon United
Total spent: £1.96m
Received:
16/6/87 Simon Ratcliffe £0.04m to Norwich City
1/7/87 Mark Todd £0 to Sheffield United
1/8/87 Frank Stapleton £0 to Ajax
1/8/87 Johnny Sivebaek £0.22 to St Ettienne
26/8/87 Terry Gibson £0.2m to Wimbledon
Total Received: £0.46m
United net spent: £1.5m
Running Gross Total: £2.01m
Running Net Total: (minus) -£0.872m
________________________________________________________________
1988/89
Spent:
01/6/88 Jim Leighton £0.75m from Aberdeen
10/6/88 Lee Sharpe £0.185m from Torquay United
20/7/88 Mark Hughes £1.8m from Barcelona
28/10/88 Mal Donaghy £0.65m from Luton Town
11/11/88 Ralph Milne £0.175m from Bristol City
30/11/88 Jules Maiorana £0.03m from Histon
Total spent: £3.59m
Received:
1/8/88 Arthur Albiston £0 to West Bromwich Albion
1/8/88 Kevin Moran £0 to Sporting Gijon
1/8/88 Andy Comyn £0 to Alvechurch
25/8/88 Graeme Hogg £0.15m to Portsmouth
1/9/88 Chris Turner £0.175m to Sheffield Wednesday
1/11/88 Jesper Olsen £0.4m to Bordeaux
3/11/88 Peter Davenport £0.75m to Middlesbrough
15/11/88 Liam O'Brien £0.25m to to Newcastle United
4/3/89 Paul Dalton £0.02m to Hartlepool United
23/3/89 Gordon Strachan £0.3m to Leeds United
Total Received: £2.045m
United net spent: £1.525m
Running Gross Total: £5.6m
Running Net Total: £0.653m
________________________________________________________________
1989/90
Spent:
01/7/89 Mike Phelan £0.75m from Norwich City
24/7/89 Neil Webb £1.5m from Nottingham Forest
24/8/89 Brian Carey £0.1m from Cork City
29/8/89 Gary Pallister £2.3m from Middlesbrough
14/9/89 Paul Ince £1m from West Ham United
18/9/89 Danny Wallace £1.2m from Southampton
26/9/89 Andy Rammell £0.04m from Atherton United
Total spent: £6.89m
Received:
1/7/89 Wayne Heseltine £0.04m to Oldham Athletic
1/08/89 Norman Whiteside £0.6m to Everton
03/8/89 Paul McGrath £0.45m to Aston Villa
25/10/89 Shaun Goater £0 to Rotherham United
Total Received: £1.09m
United net spent: £5.8m
Running Gross Total: £12.49m
Running Net Total: £6.453m
________________________________________________________________
1990/91
Spent:
1/6/90 Neil Whitworth £0.15m from Wigan Athletic
20/6/90 Denis Irwin £0.625m from Oldham
6/6/90 Les Sealey £0 from Luton Town
26/3/91 Andrei Kanchelskis £1.42m from Shakhtar Donetsk
Total spent: £2.195m
Received:
1/8/90 Mike Duxbury £0 to Blackburn Rovers
14/9/90 Andy Rammell £0.1m to Barnsley
21/12/90 Colin Gibson £0.1m to Leicester City
10/1/91 Viv Anderson £0 to Sheffield Wednesday
6/3/91 Wayne Bullimore £0 to Barnsley
Total Received: £0.2m
United net spent: £1.995m
Running Gross Total: £14.685m
Running Net Total: £8.448m
________________________________________________________________
1991/92
Spent:
8/8/91 Paul Parker £2m from Queens Park Rangers
12/8/91 Peter Schmeichel £0.53 from Brondby
Total spent: £2.53m
Received:
10/7/91 Mike Pollitt £0 to Bury
19/7/91 Les Sealey £0 to Aston Villa
26/7/91 John Sharples £0 to Hearts
8/8/91 Deniol Graham £0.05m to Barnsley
7/2/92 Jim Leighton £0.2m to Dundee
19/3/92 Jason Lydiate £0 to Bolton
24/4/92 Sean McAuley £0 to St Johnstone
Total Received: £0.25m
United net spent: £2.28m
Running Gross Total: £17.215m
Running Net Total: £10.728m
________________________________________________________________
1992/93
Spent:
1/8/92 Patrick McGibbon £0.1m from Portadown
7/8/92 Dion Dublin £1m from Cambridge United
27/11/92 Eric Cantona £1.2m from Leeds United
6/1/93 Les Sealey £0 from Aston Villa
Total spent: £2.3m
Received:
13/8/92 Mal Donaghy £0.15m to Chelsea
14/8/92 Mark Robins £0.8m to Norwich City
26/8/92 Derek Brazil £0.085m to Cardiff City
23/11/92 Neil Webb £0.8m to Nottingham Forest
19/3/93 Kieran Toal £0 to Motherwell
Total Received: £1.835m
United net spent: £0.465m
Running Gross Total: £19.515m
Running Net Total: £11.193m
________________________________________________________________
1993/94
Spent:
22/7/93 Roy Keane £3.75m from Nottingham Forest
Total spent: £3.75m
Received:
29/6/93 Russell Beardsmore £0 to Bournemouth
30/6/93 George Switzer £0 to Darlington
16/7/93 Brian Carey £0.25m to Leicester City
30/9/93 Adrian Doherty £0 to Derry
30/9/93 Ian Wilkinson £0 to Stockport County
15/10/93 Danny Wallace £0.25m to Birmingham City
13/1/94 Darren Ferguson £0.25m to Wolverhampton Wanderers
19/1/94 Lee Martin £0.35m to Celtic
Total Received: £1.1m
United net spent: £2.65m
Running Gross Total: £23.265m
Running Net Total: £13.843m
________________________________________________________________
1994/95
Spent:
1/7/94 David May £1.25m from Blackburn Rovers
12/7/94 Graeme Tomlinson £0.1m from Bradford City
12/1/95 Andy Cole £7m from Newcastle United
Total spent: £8.35m
Received:
30/6/94 Craig Lawton £0 to Port Vale
30/6/94 Les Sealey £0 to Blackpool
8/7/94 David Pierce £0 to Rotherham United
8/7/94 Ian Hart £0 to Crewe Alexandra
11/7/94 Clayton Blackmore £0 to Middlesbrough
11/7/94 Mike Phelan £0 to West Bromwich Albion
2/9/94 Neil Whitworth £0.265m to Kilmarnock
6/9/94 Colin McKee £0.265m to Kilmarnock
9/9/94 Dion Dublin £2m to Coventry City
12/1/95 Keith Gillespie £1m to Newcastle United (part exchange as part of Cole deal)
Total Received: £3.53m
United net spent: £4.82m
Running Gross Total: £31.615m
Running Net Total: £21.778m
________________________________________________________________
1995/96
Spent:
25/9/95 Nick Culkin £0.25m from York City
31/1/96 Tony Coton £0.5m from Manchester City
Total spent: £0.75m
Received:
22/6/95 Paul Ince £7m to Inter Milan
23/6/95 Mark Hughes £1.5m to Chelsea
30/6/95 Craig Dean £0 Tamworth
30/6/95 David Johnson £0 to Bury
30/6/95 Richard Flash £0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers
2/7/95 Paul Lyons £0 to Rochdale
2/7/95 Patrick Lee £0 to Middlesbrough
2/7/95 Paul Heckinbottom £0 to Sunderland
5/7/95 Mark Rawlinson £0 to Bournemouth
19/7/95 Richard Irving £0.075m to Nottingham Forest
26/7/95 Ashley Westwood £0.04m to Crewe Alexandra
11/8/95 Gary Walsh £0.25m to Middlesbrough
25/8/95 Andrei Kanchelskis £5m to Everton
2/9/95 Elliott Dickman £0 to Sunderland
Total Received: £13.865m
United net spent: (minus) -£13.115m
Running Gross Total: £32.365m
Running Net Total: £8.663m
________________________________________________________________
1996/97
Spent:
1/7/96 Raimond Van Der Gouw £0m from Vitesse Arnhem
10/7/96 Ronny Johnsen £1.5m from Besiktas
24/7/96 Karel Poborsky £3.5m Slavia Prague
29/7/96 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer £1.5m from Molde
8/8/96 Jordi Cryuff £1.4m from Barcelona
Total spent: £7.9m
Received:
22/5/96 Steve Bruce £0 to Birmingham City
31/5/96 Paul Parker £0 to Derby County
12/7/96 Tony Coton £0.6m to Sunderland
14/8/96 Lee Sharpe £4.5m to Leeds United
8/12/96 Jovan Kirovski £0 to Borussia Dortmund
Total Received: £5.1m
United net spent: £2.8m
Running Gross Total: £40.265m
Running Net Total: £11.463m
________________________________________________________________
1997/98
Spent:
26/6/97 Teddy Sheringham £3.5m from Tottenham Hotspur
30/6/97 Erik Nevland £1.5m from Viking
11/8/97 Henning Berg £5m from Blackburn Rovers
24/3/98 Jonathan Greening £1.15m from York City
Total spent: £11.15m
Received:
15/5/97 Colin Murdock £0.1m to Preston North End
22/7/97 John Macken £1.25 to Preston North End (deal included a £1m sell-on fee that was fulfilled when he moved to Manchester City in 2002)
28/7/97 Pat McGibbon £0.25m to Wigan Athletic
1/8/97 Simon Davies £0.2m to Luton Town
8/8/97 Michael Appleton £0.5m to Preston North End
26/9/97 Stephen Newham £0 to Middlesbrough
30/12/97 Karel Poborsky £3m to Benfica
31/12/97 Neil Mustoe £0 to Wigan Athletic
28/1/98 John O'Kane £0.4m to Everton
1/4/98 Andy Duncan £0.02m to Cambridge United
17/4/98 Tommy Smith £0 to Cambridge United
Total Received: £5.72m
United net spent: £5.43m
Running Gross Total: £51.415m
Running Net Total: £15.893m
...
Often, people use Transfer League as the source for their arguments. There are a couple of problems with that: the fact that some transfers are missing; the fact that he seems to choose the fees he prefers and disregard others; the fact that so few transfers have any reliable source listed; finally, the fact that he uses the "official" season start and end dates when most people would consider any transfers that go through after the last match of the season count towards the following season.
I'll cover the whole of the Alex Ferguson era at United - 1986-present. Sales and purchases will all be included, some free transfers in and out and youth team promotions will not be included for sake of brevity. My sources for all United transfers can be found on my blog: Manchester United Transfers
Manchester United F.C.
1986/87
Spent:
14/10/86 Liam O'Brien £0.05m from Shamrock Rovers (signed by Ron Atkinson)
Total spent: £0.05m
Received:
1/7/86 Mark Hughes £2.3m to Barcelona (sold by Ron Atkinson)
15/8/86 Alan McLaughlin £0 to Swindon Town (sold by Ron Atkinson)
24/8/86 Mark Dempsey £0.025m to Sheffield United (sold by Ron Atkinson)
25/9/86 Fraser Dibgy £0.032m to Swindon Town (sold by Ron Atkinson)
14/1/87 Peter Barnes £0.03m to Manchester City
1/2/87 Mark Higgins £0.01m to Bury
26/3/87 Martin Russell £0.025m to Leicester City
Total Received: £2.422m
United net spent: (minus) -£2.372m
Running Gross Total: £0.05m
Running Net Total: (minus) -£2.372m
________________________________________________________________
1987/88
Spent:
9/7/87 Viv Anderson £0.25m from Arsenal
30/7/87 Brian McClair £0.85m from Celtic
17/12/87 Steve Bruce £0.825m from Norwich City
3/5/88 Paul Dalton £0.035m from Brandon United
Total spent: £1.96m
Received:
16/6/87 Simon Ratcliffe £0.04m to Norwich City
1/7/87 Mark Todd £0 to Sheffield United
1/8/87 Frank Stapleton £0 to Ajax
1/8/87 Johnny Sivebaek £0.22 to St Ettienne
26/8/87 Terry Gibson £0.2m to Wimbledon
Total Received: £0.46m
United net spent: £1.5m
Running Gross Total: £2.01m
Running Net Total: (minus) -£0.872m
________________________________________________________________
1988/89
Spent:
01/6/88 Jim Leighton £0.75m from Aberdeen
10/6/88 Lee Sharpe £0.185m from Torquay United
20/7/88 Mark Hughes £1.8m from Barcelona
28/10/88 Mal Donaghy £0.65m from Luton Town
11/11/88 Ralph Milne £0.175m from Bristol City
30/11/88 Jules Maiorana £0.03m from Histon
Total spent: £3.59m
Received:
1/8/88 Arthur Albiston £0 to West Bromwich Albion
1/8/88 Kevin Moran £0 to Sporting Gijon
1/8/88 Andy Comyn £0 to Alvechurch
25/8/88 Graeme Hogg £0.15m to Portsmouth
1/9/88 Chris Turner £0.175m to Sheffield Wednesday
1/11/88 Jesper Olsen £0.4m to Bordeaux
3/11/88 Peter Davenport £0.75m to Middlesbrough
15/11/88 Liam O'Brien £0.25m to to Newcastle United
4/3/89 Paul Dalton £0.02m to Hartlepool United
23/3/89 Gordon Strachan £0.3m to Leeds United
Total Received: £2.045m
United net spent: £1.525m
Running Gross Total: £5.6m
Running Net Total: £0.653m
________________________________________________________________
1989/90
Spent:
01/7/89 Mike Phelan £0.75m from Norwich City
24/7/89 Neil Webb £1.5m from Nottingham Forest
24/8/89 Brian Carey £0.1m from Cork City
29/8/89 Gary Pallister £2.3m from Middlesbrough
14/9/89 Paul Ince £1m from West Ham United
18/9/89 Danny Wallace £1.2m from Southampton
26/9/89 Andy Rammell £0.04m from Atherton United
Total spent: £6.89m
Received:
1/7/89 Wayne Heseltine £0.04m to Oldham Athletic
1/08/89 Norman Whiteside £0.6m to Everton
03/8/89 Paul McGrath £0.45m to Aston Villa
25/10/89 Shaun Goater £0 to Rotherham United
Total Received: £1.09m
United net spent: £5.8m
Running Gross Total: £12.49m
Running Net Total: £6.453m
________________________________________________________________
1990/91
Spent:
1/6/90 Neil Whitworth £0.15m from Wigan Athletic
20/6/90 Denis Irwin £0.625m from Oldham
6/6/90 Les Sealey £0 from Luton Town
26/3/91 Andrei Kanchelskis £1.42m from Shakhtar Donetsk
Total spent: £2.195m
Received:
1/8/90 Mike Duxbury £0 to Blackburn Rovers
14/9/90 Andy Rammell £0.1m to Barnsley
21/12/90 Colin Gibson £0.1m to Leicester City
10/1/91 Viv Anderson £0 to Sheffield Wednesday
6/3/91 Wayne Bullimore £0 to Barnsley
Total Received: £0.2m
United net spent: £1.995m
Running Gross Total: £14.685m
Running Net Total: £8.448m
________________________________________________________________
1991/92
Spent:
8/8/91 Paul Parker £2m from Queens Park Rangers
12/8/91 Peter Schmeichel £0.53 from Brondby
Total spent: £2.53m
Received:
10/7/91 Mike Pollitt £0 to Bury
19/7/91 Les Sealey £0 to Aston Villa
26/7/91 John Sharples £0 to Hearts
8/8/91 Deniol Graham £0.05m to Barnsley
7/2/92 Jim Leighton £0.2m to Dundee
19/3/92 Jason Lydiate £0 to Bolton
24/4/92 Sean McAuley £0 to St Johnstone
Total Received: £0.25m
United net spent: £2.28m
Running Gross Total: £17.215m
Running Net Total: £10.728m
________________________________________________________________
1992/93
Spent:
1/8/92 Patrick McGibbon £0.1m from Portadown
7/8/92 Dion Dublin £1m from Cambridge United
27/11/92 Eric Cantona £1.2m from Leeds United
6/1/93 Les Sealey £0 from Aston Villa
Total spent: £2.3m
Received:
13/8/92 Mal Donaghy £0.15m to Chelsea
14/8/92 Mark Robins £0.8m to Norwich City
26/8/92 Derek Brazil £0.085m to Cardiff City
23/11/92 Neil Webb £0.8m to Nottingham Forest
19/3/93 Kieran Toal £0 to Motherwell
Total Received: £1.835m
United net spent: £0.465m
Running Gross Total: £19.515m
Running Net Total: £11.193m
________________________________________________________________
1993/94
Spent:
22/7/93 Roy Keane £3.75m from Nottingham Forest
Total spent: £3.75m
Received:
29/6/93 Russell Beardsmore £0 to Bournemouth
30/6/93 George Switzer £0 to Darlington
16/7/93 Brian Carey £0.25m to Leicester City
30/9/93 Adrian Doherty £0 to Derry
30/9/93 Ian Wilkinson £0 to Stockport County
15/10/93 Danny Wallace £0.25m to Birmingham City
13/1/94 Darren Ferguson £0.25m to Wolverhampton Wanderers
19/1/94 Lee Martin £0.35m to Celtic
Total Received: £1.1m
United net spent: £2.65m
Running Gross Total: £23.265m
Running Net Total: £13.843m
________________________________________________________________
1994/95
Spent:
1/7/94 David May £1.25m from Blackburn Rovers
12/7/94 Graeme Tomlinson £0.1m from Bradford City
12/1/95 Andy Cole £7m from Newcastle United
Total spent: £8.35m
Received:
30/6/94 Craig Lawton £0 to Port Vale
30/6/94 Les Sealey £0 to Blackpool
8/7/94 David Pierce £0 to Rotherham United
8/7/94 Ian Hart £0 to Crewe Alexandra
11/7/94 Clayton Blackmore £0 to Middlesbrough
11/7/94 Mike Phelan £0 to West Bromwich Albion
2/9/94 Neil Whitworth £0.265m to Kilmarnock
6/9/94 Colin McKee £0.265m to Kilmarnock
9/9/94 Dion Dublin £2m to Coventry City
12/1/95 Keith Gillespie £1m to Newcastle United (part exchange as part of Cole deal)
Total Received: £3.53m
United net spent: £4.82m
Running Gross Total: £31.615m
Running Net Total: £21.778m
________________________________________________________________
1995/96
Spent:
25/9/95 Nick Culkin £0.25m from York City
31/1/96 Tony Coton £0.5m from Manchester City
Total spent: £0.75m
Received:
22/6/95 Paul Ince £7m to Inter Milan
23/6/95 Mark Hughes £1.5m to Chelsea
30/6/95 Craig Dean £0 Tamworth
30/6/95 David Johnson £0 to Bury
30/6/95 Richard Flash £0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers
2/7/95 Paul Lyons £0 to Rochdale
2/7/95 Patrick Lee £0 to Middlesbrough
2/7/95 Paul Heckinbottom £0 to Sunderland
5/7/95 Mark Rawlinson £0 to Bournemouth
19/7/95 Richard Irving £0.075m to Nottingham Forest
26/7/95 Ashley Westwood £0.04m to Crewe Alexandra
11/8/95 Gary Walsh £0.25m to Middlesbrough
25/8/95 Andrei Kanchelskis £5m to Everton
2/9/95 Elliott Dickman £0 to Sunderland
Total Received: £13.865m
United net spent: (minus) -£13.115m
Running Gross Total: £32.365m
Running Net Total: £8.663m
________________________________________________________________
1996/97
Spent:
1/7/96 Raimond Van Der Gouw £0m from Vitesse Arnhem
10/7/96 Ronny Johnsen £1.5m from Besiktas
24/7/96 Karel Poborsky £3.5m Slavia Prague
29/7/96 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer £1.5m from Molde
8/8/96 Jordi Cryuff £1.4m from Barcelona
Total spent: £7.9m
Received:
22/5/96 Steve Bruce £0 to Birmingham City
31/5/96 Paul Parker £0 to Derby County
12/7/96 Tony Coton £0.6m to Sunderland
14/8/96 Lee Sharpe £4.5m to Leeds United
8/12/96 Jovan Kirovski £0 to Borussia Dortmund
Total Received: £5.1m
United net spent: £2.8m
Running Gross Total: £40.265m
Running Net Total: £11.463m
________________________________________________________________
1997/98
Spent:
26/6/97 Teddy Sheringham £3.5m from Tottenham Hotspur
30/6/97 Erik Nevland £1.5m from Viking
11/8/97 Henning Berg £5m from Blackburn Rovers
24/3/98 Jonathan Greening £1.15m from York City
Total spent: £11.15m
Received:
15/5/97 Colin Murdock £0.1m to Preston North End
22/7/97 John Macken £1.25 to Preston North End (deal included a £1m sell-on fee that was fulfilled when he moved to Manchester City in 2002)
28/7/97 Pat McGibbon £0.25m to Wigan Athletic
1/8/97 Simon Davies £0.2m to Luton Town
8/8/97 Michael Appleton £0.5m to Preston North End
26/9/97 Stephen Newham £0 to Middlesbrough
30/12/97 Karel Poborsky £3m to Benfica
31/12/97 Neil Mustoe £0 to Wigan Athletic
28/1/98 John O'Kane £0.4m to Everton
1/4/98 Andy Duncan £0.02m to Cambridge United
17/4/98 Tommy Smith £0 to Cambridge United
Total Received: £5.72m
United net spent: £5.43m
Running Gross Total: £51.415m
Running Net Total: £15.893m
...
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