Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United have paid the price for letting five of his former teammates depart Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag's first season was a largely promising one after finishing in the top four and reaching the final of both domestic cup competitions. He appears to have United on the right path but their Carabao Cup success was only the fourth trophy won since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
Ferdinand was part of the last title-winning team in 2013 and says the club "messed up" in the transfer windows under previous managers Louis van Gaal and David Moyes.
The former England defender highlighted the exits of Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck, who have both played in the Premier League this season, as well as Javier Hernandez and Rafael and Fabio Da Silva, as big mistakes.
"They were the lifeblood of Manchester United, they all came through the system, all Man United boys, and that was lost as well," Ferdinand told Vibe With Five
"That was a part of what the club had been built on before, people who would come through the academy were integral to everything Man United stood for.
"And they were getting rid of those players willy-nilly, I couldn’t believe the club even allowed it."
Van Gaal sold Welbeck, an England international at the time, to rivals Arsenal in his first summer at Old Trafford. He was moved on to make room for new loan signing Radamel Falcao, while the United boss insisted it was because his goalscoring record wasn't good enough.
Ferdinand suggests Welbeck is still good enough to play at Old Trafford nine years later after an impressive season with Brighton but believes the "biggest travesty" was letting Evans depart for West Brom for just £6m the following year.
"He should never have been allowed to leave the club. He was the best centre-half at the club when we all left. Smalling’s had a great career, don’t get me wrong, but Jonny Evans is a better player, 100 per cent," he added.
Mexican striker Hernandez spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Real Madrid before leaving permanently for Bayer Leverkusen the following summer after failing to impress Van Gaal.
Three-time title winner Rafael also left for Lyon in the same transfer window, just a matter of months after David Moyes let twin brother Fabio move to Cardiff.
"What they did at Man United they could’ve done that for the rest of their career," Ferdinand added.
