Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has insisted that the club no longer has the pull it used to have, with the best players no longer wanting to go to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils are believed to be on the verge of landing their second signing of the January transfer window after they acquired backup goalkeeper Jack Butland on loan from Crystal Palace, with Netherlands international Wout Weghorst expected to join the club on a short six-month loan deal.
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Earlier in the window, Erik ten Hag's side missed out on the chance to sign former priority target Cody Gakpo, with the forward joining Liverpool instead.
United have since had to refocus their attention to other players, namely Weghorst, in order to replace departed striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
Club icon Eric Cantona believes the Red Devils are now missing out on players they would easily have secured in previous eras due to their lack of appeal to the best footballers in the world.
"During the time of Alex Ferguson if you wanted a player, the best in the world, he would come to Manchester United because they were winning in England and Europe," Cantona, who also admitted he was unaware of Weghorst or his move to United, said, according to the Daily Mail.
"Manchester United were the biggest club in the world and they had the money to buy any type of player.
"Now it is different, because the best players want to play in a team to win things and United are not in the position to be able to choose the best ones because the best ones won't come to United.
"So you have to be clever. Clever like Liverpool. They took [Sadio] Mane and [Mohamed] Salah, not the best players in the world, but with a great team and a great atmosphere, together they won things.
"And then Mane and Salah became the best players in the world. That's a great example for United."
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