United last won the league in 2012/13, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season which has proven to be the downfall of a club who were used to winning back to back titles.
The Red Devils have also not won a trophy since 2024 when they lifted the FA Cup, beating Manchester City 2–1 at Wembley.
Before that, they won the 2023 League Cup, which itself ended a six-year trophy drought dating back to their 2017 Europa League/League Cup successes.
United have struggled for silverware and are not considered title challengers under manager Michael Carrick this season as the club prepare for what may be yet another trophyless campaign.
Speaking to ComeOn, Gullit believes that United are in a rut and Ferguson was smart to jump ship while he could over a decade ago.
“United? They cannot compete this year. Not yet. I think they still lack a little bit of quality as we can see they cannot control a game. They take a lead, it can still go either way.
“That is not something that is going to be easy to fix when there’s something that you miss because it does depend on a lot of individual quality, not just the team quality. If they want to achieve things again, it will take some time.
“The most important thing that United can show this season is patience. It’s a simple fact. They don’t have the best players in the Premier League anymore. They all play for the other teams at the moment. United are having to deal with the fact that the players they really need all play for the other clubs. They missed the boat about five or six years ago.
“The top players went to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, and United have missed the boat, and it will take some time for them to get themselves in order to get back to a level where they can have a chance at winning another Premier League title. There are too many stronger contenders with a lot more quality this season.
“Sir Alex Ferguson himself said it will take 10 years and that could be it. They are in a hole. They have been in a hole since Ferguson left and I think he knew what he was doing. That’s why he retired at that time. He is clever. He saw this all coming and retired just in time. He knew at that moment that it was the end. Things were changing because more and more teams had money to spend and were bringing in these top coaches, and the top players only want to play for these top coaches. That’s not United anymore. It will take them some time to come again.”
United have one win from their opening four and sit 13th in the Premier League table as their tough start continues under Carrick.