Manchester United representatives haven’t had the best World Cup. Senne Lammens, arguably United’s most reliable player last season, made an uncharacteristic but costly error in the quarterfinals against Spain under challenging circumstances. The expectations are higher for players like Lammens because of the standards he’s set, but his error in a way typifies the general feeling around United players in this tournament.
The same can be said for United captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes, who deservedly
won many individual honours at the end of the season and is the only United player who can unequivocally claim to be one of the best in the world in his position; but he, like his lauded midfield partners in the national side, had a tournament to forget.
Important squad members like Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo had more of an impact for their national sides, but they weren’t the main men. They were replaceable, but important members of a promising attacking unit, which isn’t unlike their role at United. Lisandro Martinez divides opinion at United, and it’s no different with Argentina; he has had some big moments and some questionable ones in this tournament. Kobbie Mainoo was trusted to join the England squad, but hasn’t played a single minute under the demanding Thomas Tuchel.
All the players mentioned, regardless of their World Cup performances, are the type who wouldn’t look out of place in a top club side, but none of them qualifies as a true superstar, not even Bruno Fernandes. This tournament will be remembered for the superstars. Even here, there’s a difference between world superstars that transcend the game like Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi from those that qualify as superstars but don’t transcend the sport like Ousmane Dembele and Vinicius Junior.
Successful United sides have had at least some players who qualify as world superstars, if not superstars within the game. Of course, United helped build up the likes of George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo, but there was a sense that they were destined to end up that way, not unlike a young Jude Bellingham, who United worked hard to sign some seasons ago.
United’s global image was formed by players who could capture the world’s imagination, and they’ll need to either produce them or acquire them soon if they want to reach the top. It doesn’t have to happen immediately, and there are times when a team can get over the line without an obvious superstar, like the current Arsenal side, but it’s hard to stay at the top without one. It remains to be seen if this Arsenal side can manage that.
This World Cup has shed light on how far United still are from hitting the heights that are expected of them. INEOS seem to be looking at bargains in the market, which is never a problem, but they’ll have to gamble on true superstar potential soon.
