Should Memphis Depay have achieved more? Ex-Man Utd & Barcelona forward told lack of a quality possessed by Bruno Fernandes has held him back

Back in 2015, having burst onto the scene at PSV and become a Golden Boot winner in the Eredivisie, Memphis was taken to Old Trafford in a £25 million ($34m) transfer. He was considered to be a rough diamond in need of some polishing, but excited those that were eager to see what he could do in the Premier League.

The answer turned out to be, not much. Just seven goals - with only two of those coming in English top-flight competition - were registered across his debut campaign in England. By January 2017, with Jose Mourinho calling shots at Old Trafford by that point, he was moved on to Lyon at a financial and sporting loss to United.

A lost spark was rekindled in France, with end product returning to his game, and few eyebrows were raised when Barcelona snapped him up as a free agent in 2021. Lionel Messi departed Camp Nou a matter of weeks later, leading to added pressure being lumped onto Memphis’ shoulders. Just one full season was spent in Catalunya before heading to Atletico Madrid for 16 months and eventually over to South America.

Memphis has become a fan favourite at Corinthians, with his technical ability and desire to dip into a bag of tricks tailor-made for life in Brazil - alongside the party lifestyle that Sao Paulo has to offer.

Should he, however, have achieved even more over the course of his career - particularly at a top club in Europe? When that question was put to former United assistant manager Meulensteen, the Dutchman - speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of Best Betting Bonuses - said: “Yeah, I think so. But it also doesn't really surprise me that he hasn't.

“I don't think he has got that real iron mentality like a Bruno has - wanting to perform every single training session, every single game. I don't think Memphis has that.

“You know, his performance curves have always been up and down - some good things and then he doesn't show up. That is obviously what you need at big clubs like Manchester United, you have to perform at your best every single game.”

Mourinho, who was the man to end Memphis’ nightmare at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’, has previously said of why the naturally-gifted forward flopped under his tutelage: “I read something about Wayne Rooney telling that Memphis went to a reserve match playing with the kids and he arrived with this big Rolls Royce and his cowboy hat and that was a little bit of Memphis.

“Good guy, really good guy. Good professional. He is a really good professional, people can look at him and think this is another party boy.

“Sometimes they go too early to the biggest clubs where they are not ready to cope with it and understand at the biggest clubs there is internal competition and you cannot play all the time. There are fantastic players to fight with you for a position. They lose a little bit of their sense of reality and they become a little bit childish, which was, in the end, what happened.”

Memphis has matured into a player that cares little about what any detractors have to say. He wants to play with a smile on his face - alongside former United team-mate Jesse Lingard - and to entertain those that pay good money to come and watch him perform.

He can be rightly proud of having spent time with some of the biggest clubs on the planet and will, at 32 years of age, still have an important role to play for his country this summer at the 2026 World Cup finals in North America.