'We've been cheated!' - Nemanja Vidic blasts Man Utd for over-paying on transfer fees and salaries and blames former chief executive for recruitment failures

Vidic was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, about United's failure to win a Premier League title since 2013 and he said the club's poor recruitment was a key factor in their struggles.

"I think sometimes with the salaries and the money we’ve paid to certain players, we’ve been cheated. That for me is the problem," Vidic said. "Recruitment is the biggest thing, bringing in good football players, coaches, medical staff, and I think that they should be careful with what kind of people they bring into certain places. To be at Manchester United you have to be one of the best in the market, and you have to invest in that – maybe even more than in the players and I think that we haven’t done that well."

Vidic said that United suffered from the twin departures of Sir Alex Ferguson and chief executive David Gill in 2013 and he believes that Ed Woodward, who succeeded Gill, was out of his depth in the transfer business. "My feeling is that Sir Alex Ferguson left but so did David Gill as well – that’s two big personalities who had been with the club for 25-years. They’re difficult to replace and Ed Woodward taking that position, I think was above his knowledge and his capability – that’s my opinion. Obviously, he did fantastic for the club in terms of the marketing and bringing money in, but dealing with agents and players, that role needs someone with experience."

Vidic believes United should have hired former players to work in recruitment as they know how footballers and agents work. He said: "Even having some ex-footballers around to understand how the players think and how the agent thinks [would have helped]. At the time, the club didn’t help themselves in terms of not bringing in the knowledge of ex-players like yourself [Gary Neville], Paul Scholes, or Ryan Giggs – someone who has experienced talking with agents."

The club made a strong start to the transfer window by signing Matheus Cunha and they are believed to be close to agreeing a deal with Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo. United have also signed 18-year-old forward Enzo Kana Biyik from Le Havre although he will be sent out on loan to Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport, which is owned by United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.