Manchester United are currently in a deep muddle with their squad building and finances.
The last decade wasn’t the best for the Red Devils as they haven’t won the Premier League since 2013.
They haven’t been the same club since the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Recently, former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic appeared on The Overlap podcast, where he criticised former executive chairman Ed Woodward.
The Serbian feels Woodward was out of his depth in terms of recruitment, which led to United’s steep decline.
Vidic said he wouldn’t have predicted that United wouldn’t win a single league title in 12 years.
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“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,” he said.
“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.
“Even having some ex-footballers around to understand how the players think and how the agent thinks [would have helped].
“I think sometimes with the salaries and the money we’ve paid to certain players, we’ve been cheated. That for me is the problem.
“Recruitment is the biggest thing, bringing in good football players, coaches, medical staff, and I think that they should be careful with what kind of people they bring into certain places.”
Woodward was the one who advised the Glazers family to take over Man United in 2005, and later in 2013 he took full charge of the club as executive vice chairman.
He held the role for nine years, and in that time, the Red Devils invested more than £1billion in transfer fees and only won three trophies.
Vidic wants people with character at Manchester United
Vidic wants the club to bring people with character who are ready to take responsibility and are strong enough to face consequences if things don’t go their way.
“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.
“It’s difficult to be at United now, to be a football player or the owner – whatever you do, it’s difficult so if you want to change the club, the club has to bring in the characters.
“You need people who will take responsibility and be strong enough to say the things they see, even if they have to deal with the consequences.”
Manchester United are in a spot of bother as they could only manage a 15th-place finish in the 2024/25 Premier League points table.
They have signed Matheus Cunha from Wolves, along with two youngsters in Diego Leon and Enzo Kana-Biyik, and the latter has already moved out on loan.
United are currently working closely to wrap up Bryan Mbuemo’s deal from Brentford, whilst being linked with a couple of midfielders.
Ruben Amorim has vowed that he will improve the situation at Old Trafford, and the incoming players are an early indication of a rebuild.
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