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Top 10 Manchester United signings of the decade

By Prathamesh Murugesan

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates with the Barclays Premier League trophy, after the game (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates with the Barclays Premier League trophy, after the game (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images) /
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Manchester United’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring the team’s first goal during the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Bristol City and Manchester United at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, southwest England on December 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Geoff CADDICK / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester United’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring the team’s first goal during the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Bristol City and Manchester United at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, southwest England on December 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Geoff CADDICK / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read GEOFF CADDICK/AFP via Getty Images) /

#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free from PSG in 2016)

When Jose Mourinho arrived at United, he was expected to attract some huge names to the club. Sure enough, Zlatan followed the Portuguese to the Theater of Dreams.

There were understandably some doubts about Ibrahimovic’s ability to perform in England, given that he was almost 35 when he arrived. Any questions were immediately answered when he scored the winning goal in United’s 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester City.

He followed that up with an improbably long-range strike against Bournemouth in his league debut. Zlatan continued to score regularly, and soon became the oldest player to score 15 goals in one Premier League season.

United also won the League Cup and the Europa League that year, and his contributions were vital in those competitions as well. He scored a hat trick against Saint-Etienne, and two invaluable goals in the Carabao Cup final.

The incredible impact he made after arriving on a free makes him one of the best pieces of business that United have ever conducted. It doesn’t matter that he stayed only for a year and a half, because he helped the club win some very important trophies to restore a sense of stability.

A serious knee ligament injury against Anderlecht should have ended his career, especially at the age of 35. Sure enough, he left for the MLS the following season, but no one saw his extraordinary revival coming after that.

He’s left LA Galaxy now, and is set for a return to Europe. Everton have their name in the hat, and fans would surely love to see him back in England.

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