Exasperating Memphis Depay had run out of chances at Manchester United, and departs with potential unfulfilled
It was December 2015 and, concerned about some of Memphis Depay’s off-field decisions and the unwanted attention he often drew, Ryan Giggs, then Louis van Gaal’s assistant at Manchester United, sat down to talk to the Holland winger.
This was not uncommon. Giggs had often taken the time to counsel, advise and encourage Depay, something the player appreciated. He would later describe Giggs as an inspirational mentor.
“He talks a lot with me and gives me advice to equip me,” Depay said. “He has experienced everything already so he helps with all kinds of things. He works a lot with me.”
So Giggs talked, Depay listened, made all the right noises and United hoped the message would sink in this time because such conversations had not always been heeded before. Imagine the furrowed brows then when, a couple of weeks later, Depay arrived at United’s Carrington training base in a gleaming £240,000 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.
Told to keep a lower profile, shun the bling, reconsider his extravagant, excessive attire and buckle down, the message went in one ear and out of the other. The exasperation was marked. As a snapshot of Depay’s doomed career at Old Trafford, it was telling.
Eighteen months after inheriting the famous United No. 7 shirt and talk about Depay perhaps following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Dutchman will complete a transfer to Lyons on Thursday in a deal that, with add ons, could eventually be worth around €25 million (£21.7 million).
Depay may have had the swagger and cocky strut of Ronaldo but that is where the comparisons end.
United staff and former players still talk with a sense of awe about Ronaldo’s famed levels of dedication, the endless hours on the training ground honing not just those free-kicks but things like his heading technique, the relentless gym work that was central to creating a physique that redefined the way wide players were viewed. He became a one-man wrecking machine not simply because of his superior talent but his superior attitude.
By contrast, Depay’s attitude and application often left something to be desired. The irony is that he had actually been showing clear signs of equipping himself professionally under Jose Mourinho, who spoke in positive terms about the player’s public persona not being in keeping with what he witnessed privately.
There may have been a significant element to that of Mourinho wanting to keep the player’s value high, of not damaging an asset’s worth, but staff who expected him to become a nuisance or negative influence in the dressing room after being frozen out encountered the opposite.
Sure, frustration at not playing, at falling so far down the pecking order was acute but he was never a distraction, a problem. In the circumstances, he radiated as much positivity as he could, the same which went for Morgan Schneiderlin and still applies to Ashley Young.
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Perhaps that offers a glimpse of optimism going forward, hope that, while still young at 22, Depay can revitalise his career in France. Having seen what happened with Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, who left United for the relatively paltry sum of £7.3 million and has since been scoring for fun for Bayer Leverkusen, United must have felt the need to protect themselves in the future with a buy-back option on Depay. He will have to go some for such a scenario to ever materialise.
His United career under Mourinho looked over the moment he was hooked after 55 minutes of an EFL Cup tie against lowly Northampton Town in September, having failed to make an impression. But the writing may have been on the wall long before then.
After being withdrawn at half-time of United’s Boxing Day game at Stoke City in 2015, Depay would only make another four starts in the league for the club.
After being blamed for gifting Chelsea a late equaliser three minutes after coming on as a substitute at Stamford Bridge in February last year, Depay was instructed to play for the reserves against Norwich City the next day. It was an embarrassment trumped only by his omission from United’s 18-man squad for the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace in May.
First Victor Valdes and some of the youngsters Van Gaal blooded, such as Paddy McNair and Donald Love, then Schneiderlin and now Depay, Mourinho is overseeing a gradual purge of those purchases made by his predecessor who have fallen short of the level required. Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger may be next.
Having been accused in the past of buying too high and selling too cheap, United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, deserves credit for recouping the £24 million they spent on Schneiderlin and striking a good deal for Depay, despite being dealt a bad hand. Once currency depreciations and amortisation are factored in, United expect the loss on their initial £25 million outlay to be negligible.
Perhaps Depay will prove his critics wrong at Lyons. Perhaps he will be sold on for a substantial fee in the future, a cut of which United will be entitled to. Something extraordinary would have to happen for him to be back playing for the club one day, though. He had his chance and he failed to grasp it.