When it rains it pours at Old Trafford, and not just through the leaky roof. 

The beleaguered club, facing a managerial nightmare, dressing room unrest and unprecedented fan fury at the board and owners - have now been named the worst transfer operators in Europe. 

Stats boffins at CIES Football Observatory have put the business of hundreds of clubs around the world under the microscope. 

And the findings make for grim reading for United, who are the lowest ranked European team having lost £334m over the last five years. 

It is another black mark against Ineos, who have run the football operation for a chunk of that time frame having taken over football operations in 2024.

Only big-spending Saudi side Al-Hilal are below the Red Devils in the overall standings. 

The data compiled by CIES ranks every team in world football who have spent more than £42m on transfer fees since 2021, including add-ons. 

They then calculated the balance between fees paid to sign players and money received for selling (loans do not count). And the value of players still owned by the club is also taken into account. 

A high ranking in the list points to a shrewd, well-run transfer strategy and teams lower down have conducted poor business. 

In Man United's case, they have lost approximately £156m from player sales and the value of players in under-fire Michael Carrick's squad decreased by a further £184m. 

It doesn't take long to understand how these gruesome numbers came to be. United splashed out £85m on Antony from Ajax in 2022 and he left for only £21.7m to Real Betis.   

Jadon Sancho arrived to much fanfare from Borussia Dortmund, costing the club £73m. They did not recoup any fee and he remains a free agent. 

Rasmus Hojlund came for £72m in 2023 and later signed for Napoli for a £34m loss. 

Andre Onana (£47m), Mason Mount (£60m) and Joshua Zirkzee (£36m) remain on the books but have struggled to make an impact. 

The failure is therefore not simply an inability to recoup transfer fees but also demonstrates the club's struggle to correctly identify the right players at the right prices in recruitment. 

At the very top of the list, Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt boast an increase in value of approximately £441m.

Real Madrid are behind them with £440m, while Champions League holders PSG sit in third on £394m.

Manchester City are among the top performers - in fifth just behind Benfica - with an increase in value of around £374m, although there is clearly the enormous caveat that they have been found guilty of breaking financial rules between 2009 and 2018, a period that provided the foundation for the five years studied by CIES. 

Man United are not the only Premier League side with a dreadful recent record in the market. 

Tottenham's total value went down by £157m and the value of their players has dropped by £195m. Richarlison signing from Everton in 2022 for £60m and Dominic Solanke's £65m addition are two significant outlays that have failed to deliver. 

It remains to be seen how Spurs' massive summer outlay on Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke and Co will age. 

Leicester City, now languishing in League One, have seen a decrease of £73m, while relegated West Ham depreciated by £63m. 

Unsurprisingly, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford, often heralded for being among the best-run clubs, ranked highly with gains of £292m, £271m and £253m respectively.