Manchester United’s wait for a 14th Premier League title is now well into a second decade.
Sir Alex Ferguson signed off with a league title in 2013 and since then, billions have been spent on the world’s best players and managers in a so-far fruitless attempt to get the club back on its perch.
Louis van Gaal was the manager when the club signed Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton in a £25 million move during the summer of 2015, with the French international having established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman, with a move to Old Trafford looking like the obvious next step in his career.
Morgan Schneiderlin on Manchester United’s failure to land the title
Schneiderlin’s £25m Manchester United move came after a failed attempt at a reunion by his former boss Pochettino, which led to the 15-time French international jumping at the opportunity to sign on at Old Trafford.
“I wanted to join Tottenham in 2014, after coming back from the World Cup, because Pochettino was already there,” Schneiderlin tells FourFourTwo.
“They made an offer, but Southampton rejected it. Tottenham came back in for me the following year, but there was interest from Manchester United too – you can’t say no to one of the biggest clubs in the world.”
At 25 years old, Schneiderlin was heading to Old Trafford in time for his peak years and joining a squad packed with world class players that looked to be on the way up again following the transitional period after Ferguson’s retirement.
“They’d just finished fourth under Louis van Gaal and it was still only a couple of years since Sir Alex Ferguson had left,” Schneiderlin adds.
“Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and David de Gea were there, Chris Smalling was turning into a really good defender and Bastian Schweinsteiger had just signed.
“Then a year later, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived. To be honest, when I signed my contract, I thought, ‘Great, I’m going to have a Premier League title on my CV.’"
And while Manchester United were able to win the FA Cup in Schneiderlin’s first season, they took a step back in the Premier League, finishing fifth and missing out on Champions League qualification.
After making 38 appearances in that first campaign, Schneiderlin found playing time harder to come by in his sophomore season amid increased competition for places, playing just 147 minutes across three starts and five substitute appearances by the time the January transfer window arrived.
He then called time on his Old Trafford career, with his former Saints boss Ronald Koeman signing him for Everton in a £20m deal, as his dreams of winning a Premier League title with Manchester United were dashed.
