Recently sold Man Utd star reveals true feelings on exit after regrettable Old Trafford spell

Donny van de Beek has opened up about his disappointing Manchester United spell that came to a close when joining Girona for a mind-boggling sum.

Van de Beek was brought to Man Utd by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the summer of 2020. The midfielder cost £35m (plus £5m in add-ons) and was highly regarded for his creative displays at Ajax.

However, the Dutchman’s time in England never truly got out of second gear, with his four-year stay generating just 62 appearances.

Exit opportunities had long been sought for Van de Beek and Man Utd finally found a buyer in the form of Spanish side Girona over the summer.

Van de Beek completed his switch on July 11, with the move worth a tiny up front fee of just €500,000 (£420,000 / $555,000).

When recently speaking to ESPN Netherlands, Van de Beek opened up about his new chapter in Spain and also touched on his dour United spell.

Asked if the Girona move is a “reset” for Van de Beek, the midfielder replied: “Yes I think so, it’s an important moment as well in my career.

“Yeah I try to enjoy it as well, and I do it and as I said before it’s a nice club with good football, which I think I can help [contribute towards] and I work very hard.

“But I think the most important thing is to enjoy it as well. From there the success will come.

“Day by day, I make steps every day. We train hard so from there I build on.”

When asked what his spell at Man Utd taught him, Van de Beek replied: “I think it’s clear that it didn’t work out for both sides.

“But that’s the past and I have nothing bad to say about the club.”

The reporter then clarified he wasn’t asking Van de Beek to speak ill of his former club and stressed he was only referring to what the midfielder learned from the stint.

“I didn’t play a lot of minutes,” continued Van de Beek. “But of course I learned a lot there as well with great players around and good people at the club.

“And from there the good things I will take with me for the future… I only can learn from that.”

Who Man Utd could’ve bought instead of Van de Beek

Man Utd’s pursuit of Van de Beek way back in the summer of 2020 arose due to missing out on the signing of Jadon Sancho.

Sancho would go on to join the Red Devils for £73m one year later, but it was United’s failure to sign the attacker 12 months prior that resulted in Van de Beek’s move.

A prior report from the Manchester Evening News also claimed Jack Grealish and James Maddison were considered by Man Utd before settling on Van de Beek.

Grealish was Aston Villa’s talisman at that stage and would later become the first English player to move for £100m-plus when joining Manchester City in 2021.

Maddison remained in situ with Leicester City until moving to Tottenham for £40m in 2023.

Ten Hag scolded for lacklustre transfer policy

While Van de Beek wasn’t signed by Erik ten Hag, he certainly wouldn’t have looked out of place if brought to Old Trafford during the Dutchman’s tenure.

Indeed, 10 of the 21 major first-team signings made since Ten Hag took the reins have some form of prior connection with the manager.

While some (Lisandro Martinez, Antony) were signed directly from Ten Hag’s former club Ajax, others were bought from elsewhere after previously being managed by the 54-year-old (Sofyan Amrabat at Utrecht).

Of the latest batch to arrive, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs De Ligt were managed by Ten Hag at Ajax, while Joshua Zirkzee is a fellow Dutchman.

Ten Hag’s penchant for signing players he already knows well has come in for stinging criticism from Dutch pundit Rafael van der Vaart.

In his eyes, Ten Hag is only heaping more pressure on himself by not branching out with his signings.

“When you as a coach, you bring a lot of Dutch people in or players, I am not the biggest fan of that because when you lose a few times then the pressure is even higher, and the football is also not really getting better,” said Van der Vaart.

“I saw them against Liverpool, and that, of course, it’s a tough pill to swallow because it’s like the biggest game – like the North London Derby – and you lose without a chance.

“Now he needs a lot of wins. Then he will survive but we will have to wait and see.”

Van de Beek’s dismal Man Utd spell laid bare

Man Utd are no stranger to seeing big-money moves fall flat in the post-Ferguson era.

While Van de Beek didn’t cost the same level of sum as the likes of Sancho (£73m) and Antony (£85m), the statistics from his tenure certainly suggest he can only be characterised as a bust.

Van de Beek’s statistics during four-year Man Utd spell

The £420,000 Man Utd recouped from the sale can and most likely will rise to a slightly more respectable sum.

The deal is heavily incentivised with easily-achievable add-ons worth around €4m/€5m present in the deal. Those particular add-ons are understood to relate to appearance targets in the 2024/25 season.

Van de Beek has been an unused substitute in three of Girona’s four LaLiga matches this season. But encouragingly, he did grab an assist in his one brief cameo appearance off the bench in the 4-0 thumping of Osasuna on August 29.

Furthermore, more difficult-to-achieve add-ons that could take the final fee up towards €15m were also negotiated. What they relate to isn’t yet clear.

READ MORE: Every player Man Utd got rid of in ruthless summer clear-out – and who should be next