Man United sold Scott McTominay last summer and the midfielder enjoyed a great season with Italian club Napoli.
Scott McTominay won the Scudetto with Napoli.(Image: 2025 SSC NAPOLI)
Benni McCarthy believes Manchester United made "one of the biggest mistakes in football" when they sold Scott McTominay.
McTominay completed a move to Napoli last August. United received a fixed fee of €30.5million (£25.7m) and inserted a 10 per cent sell-on clause into the deal with the Italian club.
The sale of the academy graduate represented 'pure profit' in the books, which helped United operate within Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), and he became the fifth joint-highest sale in United's history.
McTominay was ready for a new challenge away from his boyhood club and has thrived since moving to Napoli, playing a key role in sealing the club's fourth Serie A title triumph.
The midfielder contributed 13 goals and six assists and was named Serie A's Most Valuable Player.
McTominay's excellent performances have made some supporters question whether it was the right decision to sell him, and McCarthy thinks it was a huge mistake.
McCarthy was part of Erik ten Hag's backroom staff and said: "Of course, there are different reasons why you sell homegrown players sometimes. When they go, the profit lets you sign more players.
"Having said that, it was one of the biggest mistakes in football to let him leave. He was born to play for United. Maybe he wasn’t the most technical, but he had fight, and I think it’s what they will get back with Matheus Cunha.
"Scotty was a player that you look for in a dressing room to get you where you want to be. To let him go for what was a small transfer fee was a big shame. I think everyone at the club regrets that decision. "
Scott McTominay holding the FA Cup alongside Erik ten Hag
Scott McTominay holding the FA Cup alongside Erik ten Hag.
McCarthy was interviewed by BetOnlinePromoCodes and he was asked which player United missed out on during his time at the club, which saw him discuss interest in Cody Gakpo before his Liverpool transfer.
"Gakpo was the one that we wanted the most and missed out on," he said. "I think he was the first player that we sat down and discussed, and decided that he was the player who would fit in perfectly.
"We knew we could play him alongside Marcus Rashford, when Rashy was really on song in 2022. I think we were so close to getting him. At one stage, it was ours to lose. The agent knew Erik, and there were really good talks.
"The manager asked me to write up a profile for the player and to take it to the scouting department, so they knew my opinion. I watched the player, I made my case for why he would be ideal. He could play on the left, he could work as a false nine. With him and Rashford we’d have been strong down the middle and on the left.
"Then you had Alejandro Garnacho coming through, and we wanted to play him down the right. It would have been perfect. Then I was told the scouting department had watched him numerous times and they didn’t rate him.
"They said the stats weren’t right. For me, with my experience, I know what you need to deliver at a special club. You don’t need stats to tell you that. The naked eye gives you so much more than just stats. Obviously the club have a system, and the system won, so he joined Liverpool and won the league.
"People can say what they like, but we tried to bring in great players that would fit. I know the manager always takes the blame, but sometimes the club needs to look at itself. Good players escaped our grasp. Erik knew what we needed."
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