Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could not even transform Manchester United’s fortunes, according to former Red Devil Rio Ferdinand.
United crashed out at the Champions League last-16 stage at the hands of Atletico Madrid, whose 1-0 victory at Old Trafford sealed a 2-1 aggregate win for Diego Simeone's side on Tuesday.
That meant United have failed to make a Champions League semi-final since 2011, when they eventually lost to Barcelona in the final at Wembley under Alex Ferguson.
The nature of the loss to Atleti brought the direction of the club into sharp focus, but Ferdinand believes more systemic change at the club is pertinent, as opposed to squad investment.
Ralf Rangnick remains in interim charge of United until the end of the season, and Ferdinand wants to see a manager brought in that can deliver success and drag the Red Devils out of an underwhelming period.
The Reds bow out of the #UCL#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2022
"What it [the loss] does show you is that it doesn't matter what players you get together, what talent you get together, you need someone to harness that," he told BT Sport post-match.
"You need someone to harness that. You need a manager to come in and put it all together.
"If you bring in Mbappe and Haaland this summer, United are not going to win the league. It doesn't matter who you bring in, it needs to be from the top down."
United are now out of contention for silverware once again, but they will look to make amends at home to Leicester City on April 2 as they pursue Champions League qualification in the Premier League.
