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How Well Has José Mourinho Spent Money at Manchester United?

Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba. (AFP)
Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba. (AFP)
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How Well Has José Mourinho Spent Money at Manchester United?

Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba. (AFP)
Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba. (AFP)

Following Manchester United’s defeat to Juventus in the Champions League, José Mourinho stated his side are below the Italian club and other continental heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City, because of a difference in recruitment. The Portuguese, though, has had five windows to build his squad since taking over in the summer of 2016, signed 11 players at a cost of £360m at a net outlay of £285m.

Is his complaint that United have not backed him enough valid? Or is the issue too many dud buys from the 55-year-old? Here we go through them one by one …

Eric Bailly – £30m
Signed from Villarreal, June 8, 2016
Bailly was Mourinho’s best center-back in his debut season yet has since lost his way. The manager claimed he did not feature at the end of last season as the Ivorian was not “fighting for a World Cup place”. An odd reason. Rating 5/10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – free
Signed from PSG, July 1, 2016
The Swede walked his (at times) outlandish talk where it matters: on the pitch, returning 28 goals in 52 appearances though a serious knee injury towards the end of his opening season effectively ended his United career. Just seven more outings followed before departing for LA Galaxy in March. 8/10

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £30m
Signed from Borussia Dortmund, July 6, 2016
The reigning Bundesliga player of the year when joining, Mkhitaryan was pulled off at half-time of his debut in the Manchester derby and subsequently dropped: an augury of what ensued throughout his 18 months at the club before being swapped for Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez. 5/10

Paul Pogba – £89m
Signed from Juventus, August 9, 2016
The Frenchman, bought to be the superstar in Mourinho’s United, is proving a disappointment. At £89m the manager thought he was acquiring a week-in, week-out A-list performer yet instead Pogba turns it on around once every four or five matches, which is not good enough. 5/10

Victor Lindelöf – £30m
Signed from Benfica, June 14, 2017
Like Bailly, the Swede has been in and out of the XI since Mourinho signed him and this caused Ed Woodward to question the manager’s wish to pursue one of Jérôme Boateng, Harry Maguire or Diego Godín last summer. Were they, the executive vice-chairman reasoned, actually any better than the players United had? 5/10

Romelu Lukaku – £75m
Signed from Everton, July 10, 2017
The center-forward scored 27 in 51 appearances in his debut campaign for United, while also returning 10 in 11 for Belgium in a World Cup year. He may now be feeling the pace and Mourinho admitted concern over his form on Tuesday. 7/10

Nemanja Matic – £40m
Signed from Chelsea, July 31, 2017
Now Ibrahimovic has left Matic as the sole Mourinho signing who can be rated an unqualified success. The Serb is a classic water-carrier-type midfielder who allows others to perform, and offers consistent 8-out-of-10 displays his manager must wish Pogba or Alexis Sánchez would return. 8/10

Alexis Sánchez – swap deal for Mkhitaryan
Signed from Arsenal, January 22, 2018
Mourinho believed a coup was achieved when the Chilean rejected neighbors City for United yet Sánchez has been a near-disaster, failing to contribute a strike-ratio comparable to the 18 league goals Raheem Sterling managed last term. He is also lacking touch, guile and any kind of presence. 3/10

Diogo Dalot – £19m
Signed from Porto, June 6, 2018
The full-back was impressive on debut against Young Boys in United’s opening Champions League match but is again unavailable, having arrived from Porto in recovery from a knee problem. Given Antonio Valencia’s advancing years – he is now 33 – Mourinho will hope Dalot does not prove as injury plagued as Phil Jones. 5/10

Fred – £47m
Signed from Shakhtar Donetsk, June 21, 2018
The midfielder follows Lindelöf last year and Mkhitaryan the previous one: a Mourinho summer signing who the manager seems unsure of. United went behind in the 17th minute against Juventus yet when fresh energy was needed to try and turn the contest, Fred’s 25-year-old legs were not called upon. 5/10

Lee Grant – £1.53m
Signed from Stoke City, July 3, 2018
The 35-year-old was bought as a No. 3 yet had a surprise debut in September’s Carabao Cup tie with Derby County when Sergio Romero was sent off. Was accomplished before the penalty shootout, Grant being unable to prevent the Championship side prevailing 8-7. 5/10

The Guardian Sport

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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Rafael Nadal Retired after the Davis Cup. It's a Rare Team Event in Tennis

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, left, shakes hands with Rafael Nadal during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Rafael Nadal wanted to play his last match before retiring in Spain, representing Spain and wearing the red uniform used by Spain's Davis Cup squad.

“The feeling to play for your country, the feeling to play for your teammates ... when you win, everybody wins; when you lose, everybody loses, no?” Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, said a day before his career ended when his nation was eliminated by the Netherlands at the annual competition. ”To share the good and bad moments is something different than (we have on a) daily basis (in) ... a very individual sport."

The men's Davis Cup, which concludes Sunday in this seaside city in southern Spain, and the women's Billie Jean King Cup, which wrapped up Wednesday with Italy as its champion, give tennis players a rare taste of what professional athletes in soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey and more are so used to, The AP reported.

Sharing a common goal, seeking and offering support, celebrating — or commiserating — as a group.

“We don’t get to represent our country a lot, and when we do, we want to make them proud at that moment,” said Alexei Popyrin, a member of the Australian roster that will go up against No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and defending champion Italy in the semifinals Saturday after getting past the United States on Thursday. “For us, it’s a really big deal. Growing up, it was something that was instilled in us. We would watch Davis Cup all the time on the TV at home, and we would just dream of playing for it. For us, it’s one of the priorities.”

Some players say they feel an on-court boost in team competitions, more of which have been popping up in recent years, including the Laver Cup, the United Cup and the ATP Cup.

“You're not just playing for yourself,” said 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, part of Britain's BJK Cup team in Malaga. “You’re playing for everyone.”

There are benefits to being part of a team, of course, such as the off-court camaraderie: Two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini said Italy's players engaged in serious games of UNO after dinner throughout the Billie Jean King Cup.

There also can be an obvious shared joy, as seen in the big smiles and warm hug shared by Sinner and Matteo Berrettini when they finished off a doubles victory together to complete a comeback win against Argentina on Thursday.

“Maybe because we’re tired of playing by ourselves — just for ourselves — and when we have these chances, it’s always nice,” Berrettini said.

On a purely practical level, this format gives someone a chance to remain in an event after losing a match, something that is rare in the usual sort of win-and-advance, lose-and-go-home tournament.

So even though Wimbledon semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti came up short against Francisco Cerúndolo in Italy's opener against Argentina, he could cheer as Sinner went 2-0 to overturn the deficit by winning the day's second singles match and pairing with Berrettini to keep their country in the draw.

“The last part of the year is always very tough,” Sinner said. “It's nice to have teammates to push you through.”

The flip side?

There can be an extra sense of pressure to not let down the players wearing your uniform — or the country whose anthem is played at the start of each session, unlike in tournaments year-round.

Also, it can be difficult to be sitting courtside and pulling for your nation without being able to alter the outcome.

“It’s definitely nerve-racking. ... I fully just bit all my fingernails off during the match," US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz said about what it was like to watch teammate Ben Shelton lose in a 16-14 third-set tiebreaker against Australia before getting on court himself. "I get way more nervous watching team events, and my friends play, than (when it’s) me, myself, playing.”