Although they failed to sign the combative defensive midfielder they needed, Manchester United had a brilliant summer in 2025.
Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens have proven to be great signings, and this United team has been considerably better for it.
But it is not just the arrivals that have seen the Red Devils become a better team; the necessary exits have also played their part.
Alejandro Garnacho
One such departure was allowing Alejandro Garnacho to join Chelsea on a £40 million deal.
In the 20-time English champions’ worst season in a very long time, Garnacho allowed his ego to get the best of him.
He threw tantrums, disregarding Ruben Amorim and his technical bench’s decisions, decisions made for the greater good of the team.
The final nail in the coffin of his United career came when he ranted about being overlooked for the Europa League final in a very controversial interview. That post-Europa League final rant left Ineos with no choice but to move him on.
Chelsea snapped him up from United. And while the Argentinian must have been buzzing to prove United wrong, to show them he was the Cristiano Ronaldo 2.0 he was always billed as, that has not been the case.
Garnacho has struggled to find his footing at Stamford Bridge. He has been a flop, a big flop, to the point that there are already murmurs that Chelsea are looking to move him on this summer.
Ineos were stunned that Chelsea were willing to splash £40 million for Garnacho
Indeed, while highlighting what a transfer blunder it was for Chelsea to sign Garnacho last summer, the Daily Star’s Jeremy Cross is now reporting why Ineos really enjoyed closing that deal.
Cross claims:
“There was a reason United decided to sell him. They’d had enough of his poisonous attitude. It’s understood Sir Jim Ratcliffe couldn’t stop smiling when news of Chelsea’s offer reached him.”
He then asked what most Chelsea fans must be wondering:
“A player who can post more social media posts in one fell swoop than the amount of goals he has scored all season. What the heck were Chelsea thinking? Did no one at Stamford Bridge take note of how Garnacho’s time at Manchester United came to an end?”
Letting Garnacho go and banking a good £40 million was genius by Ineos.
Summer boost
It gets better when you realise that if Chelsea sell Garnacho this summer, the Red Devils could benefit from the ten per cent sell-on clause.
That said, beyond the potential Garnacho windfall, Ineos also expect to boost their transfer kitty through the sales of Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford. Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte could also be sold in deals that would further strengthen the Red Devils’ finances.
Ultimately, with the foundations laid by last summer’s transfer activity, a better summer in 2026 should see United possess a team capable of challenging for the league title.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
