The Erik ten Hag era may have delivered two trophies, the FA Cup and the League Cup, for Manchester United, but it was a spectacular failure in nearly every other sense.
The Dutch manager finished third in his debut campaign, but things quickly soured in season two. The Red Devils came eighth the following term with 60 points, their lowest position in the top flight since the 1989/90 season. He was then sacked only nine Premier League games into 2024/25, having picked up just 11 points.
Results were obviously bad, and part of this came down to poor recruitment. Indeed, a lot of Ten Hag's signings didn't pan out. Most notably, Antony was signed from former club Ajax for £86m but ended up being one of the biggest Premier League flops of all time. Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana, Mason Mount, Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte are other big purchases who are yet to deliver anything close to value for money at Old Trafford.
There has also been criticism for some sales. Scott McTominay, for example, was sold in the summer of 2024 but went on to inspire Napoli to a Serie A title and is now in the running for the Ballon d'Or. Alvaro Carreras is the most recent example.
Carreras Sold For €6m Now Thriving at Real Madrid
Alvaro Carreras
Alvaro Carreras
Carreras certainly didn't make the same impact at Old Trafford as McTominay did, failing to make a senior appearance for the Red Devils, but looked to be an impressive talent as he joined in 2020 and was later named as the club's U23 Player of the Year.
Despite his quality, Ten Hag felt Carreras was not quick enough for the Premier League and struggled against fast players, and so wasn't willing to give him a shot. He instead spent time on loan at Preston North End and then Granada before heading to Benfica in January 2024.
That too was an initial loan but included an optional buy-clause, reported to be €6 million, which was later triggered in May of the same year. The Spaniard would play 68 times for the Portuguese giants before Real Madrid swooped in with a €50m move in the summer of 2025.
Now back with his boyhood club, Carreras is really starting to impress. He has started all three La Liga games for Los Blancos at left-back so far this season, with Xabi Alonso's men picking up three wins and conceding just one goal.
Most recently, he put in an impressive 7.5/10 display against Mallorca, which included making one eye-catching goal-line clearance as Madrid clung onto a 2-1 lead.
Fans Unhappy Over Carreras' Man Utd Exit
Having been sold on the cheap and later becoming a €50m footballer, it's fair to say Man Utd fans aren't happy with former manager Ten Hag for letting Carreras go without even playing one game for the club. After his latest Madrid showing, one angry supporter remarked:
"We fumbled with Alvaro Carreras. Another Erik ten Hag masterstroke."
Another said: "I will never ever forgive Erik ten Hag for getting rid of Álvaro Carreras, never. I hope fails Erik ten Hag everywhere else he goes."
One more wrote: "We legit let Alvaro Carreras leave from UNDER OUR NOSES, and he’s pulling off stuff like this in the white of Real Madrid… We can add this to the number of sins we had to endure in the Erik Ten Hag era."
On the same topic, a fourth fan summed up fan sentiment, saying: "We don’t hate Ten Hag enough. Don’t get me wrong, we hate him a lot. But it’s still not enough."
A final supporter summed it up, saying, "Carreras leaving right under our noses and now thriving at Real Madrid. Another Ten Hag-era sin added to the list."