Manchester United have had a rollercoaster last 10 years, but who have been the worst-rated players over the past decade?
Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have been fighting to get back to the levels which we once were accustomed to.
Years of mismanagement and poor ownership have left United in a decade-long slump with no Premier League trophy since.
But now under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, things are beginning to look up for United and our troubles could finally be ending.
Looking back over the past decade though, there have been some really bad players and teams calling Old Trafford home.
So we’ve gone back through the years and picked out the player from each of the past 10 full campaigns with the worst average match ranking.
All ratings and stats are via WhoScored, only players with 10 or more appearances have been chosen and based solely on Premier League displays.
Javier Hernandez ‘Chicharito’ – 2013-14 season
The first season we’ve looked at is all the way back in 2013-14 which was the season in which David Moyes was in charge.
This season United finished seventh in the league and the player who was rated worst was the Mexican striker who was nicknamed Chicharito or Little Pea, Javier Hernandez.
He scored four goals and made two assists in 24 appearances this campaign, averaging a match rating of 6.39 throughout the season.
Now, Chicharito is a 35-year-old forward for Chivas back in Mexico but has played all over Europe since leaving Old Trafford permanently in 2015.
Darren Fletcher – 2014-15 season
For the 2014-15 season, Darren Fletcher was the worst-ranked player. This was the first campaign under Louis van Gaal and Fletcher averaged a rating of 6.19.
This was over 11 appearances and he left at the midway point in the season, joining West Brom as a 31-year-old.
Since then, Fletcher has retired and taken up a role as United technical director, a role which he has recently taken away with the arrival of Jason Wilcox. Fletcher now has a role linking the academy to the first team.
To make you feel old, Fletcher now has his twin sons at the club, with Jack and Tyler both in the U18 squad which has been so successful this season.
Memphis Depay – 2015-16 season
When Memphis Depay arrived at United, he was heralded as the second coming of Cristiano Ronaldo but as we all well know, that isn’t how it ended up.
In his debut season, he featured 29 times in the league, where he scored just two goals which made the No. 9 on his back seem rather misleading, as he averaged a match rating of just 6.38.
He didn’t last long, with Lyon paying around half what it cost to sign him in 2017.
Now, he’s at Atletico Madrid where he is having a very decent season, although not quite up to the levels his teenage self would’ve envisioned.
David de Gea – 2016-17 season
For the 2016-17 season, it was David de Gea who scored the lowest average rating in the United squad with 6.57, which isn’t too bad of a score.
The bar was relatively high this season with United winning two trophies.
Dea Gea only departed United last summer and has remained a free agent since then which is baffling for a goalkeeper of his quality.
Scott McTominay – 2017-18 season
The second Scottish player to make this list is Scott McTominay who made 13 appearances this season, averaging a score of 6.48, over what was effectively his debut campaign.
This means we don’t want to go too harshly on him as he was a kid, however he was the worst ranked for this season.
As we all know, McTominay is still a player for United and is even the third top goal scorer this season with 10. Safe to say he’s improved since 2017-18.
READ: Manchester United top scorers and assist leaders for 2023/24
Andreas Pereira – 2018-19 season
For the season in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge, it was Andreas Pereira who was the worst ranked with an average score of just 6.26.
Pereira made 14 appearances this season with one goal and one assist.
Fast forward nearly six years and Pereira is ripping it up for Fulham in the Premier League after Erik ten Hag sold him.
Pereira had some excellent outings for United, but this season wasn’t it.
Odion Ighalo – 2019-20 season
Ole’s first full season in charge saw Odion Ighalo the worst-rated player with a 6.11 average match rating.
He made 11 appearances in the league although all were from the bench. It was a move which made no sense and it makes even less sense now.
Today, Ighalo is the striker for Saudi Pro League side Al-Wehda where he has bagged 12 goals in 26 games this season.
Donny van de Beek – 2020-21 season
In 2020-21, it was a new signing at the time Donny van de Beek who had the worst rating at 6.35. He scored one goal and one assist this season and made 19 appearances.
He was the first in a recent influx of Eredivisie players over recent years and despite this season being his best, he’s still a better signing than Antony.
Right now, Van de Beek will be gearing up to return to Carrington after an unsuccessful loan at Frankfurt.
This summer we expect he’ll be desperate to find a permanent exit, and so will the club.
Jesse Lingard – 2021-22 season
This was the season that Ole was sacked with Ralf Rangnick taking charge and it was Jesse Lingard who had the lowest rating with a 6.24 this season.
He made 16 appearances, scoring twice but really just wasn’t good enough. Which explains why he was released after the campaign ended.
He then headed to Nottingham Forest but was awful and now resides in South Korea, playing for FC Seoul, where he’s been a disappointment.
Anthony Elanga – 2022-23 season
Last season, it was Anthony Elanga who was the worst rated with a 6.26 average match rating for United.
He managed to assist one goal, against Liverpool, but really wasn’t seen after this thanks to the signing of Antony and the emergence of Alejandro Garnacho.
Elanga was sold last summer to Nottingham Forest for a healthy £15m fee and has enjoyed a decent opening campaign there, despite their financial troubles.
