Today marks five years since Manchester United last won a trophy.
The 2-0 Europa League final triumph over Ajax, under Jose Mourinho, was the last time United lifted silverware. Since then, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester have all been in the winner's enclosure, domestically and in Europe, with United stuck outside, looking on forlornly.
In that time, United have reached four semi-finals and two finals: the FA Cup in 2018, which they lost to Chelsea, and the Europa League in 2021, losing a marathon penalty shootout to Villarreal. Since that Europa League victory five years ago, United have spent £665.73million on players, yet their most notable achievement remains finishing second, 19 points behind Manchester City in 2018, a feat Mourinho still considers one of his greatest of his glittering managerial career.
Of the United team that beat Ajax in Stockholm, to clinch a place in the Champions League the following season, only Marcus Rashford remains at the club, with Paul Pogba out of contract next month and set to leave as a free agent. Yet while the personnel may have changed, United are further away from challenging for the title and winning trophies than ever.
They were dumped out of the EFL Cup in the third round by West Ham at Old Trafford and beaten in the FA Cup on penalties, again at home, in the fourth round by Middlesbrough. A last-16 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League ended United's hopes of silverware for another season and confirmed their worst trophy drought for 40 years, way before Sir Alex Ferguson's era of dominance.
Ironically, given the opponents they beat five years ago to win their last trophy, it is a former Ajax boss, Erik ten Hag, who has now been entrusted with the task of ending United's wait for success. Whether Ten Hag can bring the glory days back to United remains to be seen, but the fifth anniversary of their last trophy success should be a sobering reminder to the club hierarchy, players and fans of just how far the club has been allowed to fall.
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United's decline has been made all the more painful in that it has coincided with the unprecedented success of arch rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, who have set a remarkably high standard in recent season, one ten Hag will find it hard to match, despite his obvious managerial prowess.
Ten Hag spoke of how every era of dominance must come to an end and, given that is precisely what has happened to United in the post-Ferguson era, there is some merit to his claim. But City and Liverpool are so far ahead of, not just United, but the teams in-between, that it is fanciful to think Ten Hag can have the Red Devils challenging on a par with them any time soon.
A more realistic target is a top-four finish next season and a long-awaited trophy, with the shadow of Mourinho still looming large over United until they can end their wait for silverware.
