‘I was valued three times as much when I was at Man Utd – now I’m a Champions League finalist’

Matteo Darmian arrived at Manchester United in 2015, and while his time there was lacklustre and his value has since plummeted, he’s now a Champions League finalist with Inter Milan

Matteo Darmian endured a tough time at Manchester United, though his plummeting transfer value hasn’t stopped him from becoming a Champions League finalist with Inter Milan. The Italian right-back was poached from Torino in 2015 for a respectable £12.7million, and he started his United career with an impressive 1-0 Premier League win against Tottenham under Louis van Gaal.

He was named the club’s Player of the Month for that August. In the years to come, Darmian would prove himself as a dependable squad player, aiding in FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League victories under different managers.

Although he was never quite the first name on the team sheet, he carved out a respectable top-flight career as a versatile, solid option at full-back.

Darmian left Old Trafford in 2019, heading back to his homeland and Serie A with Parma. A year later, after some solid outings, he joined Inter on loan, before signing permanently at the end of that season.

Since then, Darmian has proven to be an underrated piece of Inter’s continuous hunt for silverware, winning a pair of Scudettos, three Italian Super Cups and two Coppa Italia trophies.

Now he has the opportunity to add the Champions League to that roll of honours when Inter take on PSG on Saturday night. But he’ll line up for the match with his value vastly reduced from his time with the Red Devils.

Upon signing for United, Darmian was valued at £12.5m, which was similar to the fee United paid for him, according to Transfermarkt. This depreciated over time as the defender got older and failed to leave too much of a mark at Old Trafford. As a result, in 2018, he was valued at £10m.

When Darmian moved to Parma at the age of 30 in 2020, his value stood at £7m. Just before his move to Inter, aged 31, this plummeted to around £3m. This sum is where the Champions League finalist’s value remains at the age of 35.

However, Darmian will not be the only ex-United star who is part of Inter’s showpiece-reaching squad, as the Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also be present in Munich.

The Red Devils purchased the Armenian in 2016 for £26m from German side Borussia Dortmund, though his estimated value at the time was £31m.

Mkhitaryan’s form at Old Trafford was sketchy, but he featured regularly under Jose Mourinho before moving to Arsenal as part of the deal that saw Alexis Sanchez go in the opposite direction.

Upon joining the Gunners, he was valued at £29m, though this dropped to £21m the following year before he sealed a transfer to Roma. There, his value would decrease again, despite the fact he won the Conference League.

By 2022, when he moved to Inter, he was valued at just £7m. As of this year, at the age of 36, the Armenian has a valuation of just £3.3m. Nevertheless, he has compiled a brilliant collection of silverware over an impressive career, winning a Scudetto, the Carabao Cup and the Europa League, among other honours.

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