Manchester United are without a doubt, the most successful club in the Premier League era. Their tally of 13 Premier League wins is unlikely to come under threat any time soon. Over the course of the last two decades, the club has also seen some of the best players in the world ply their trade at Old Trafford. Picking out 10 of the best from the last two decades is much harder than you might think, particularly given the quality of players that the Red Devils had. But, here is the list of players who are kept in the highest regard by the fans for their exemplary service to the club.
Gary Neville
If you need to succeed at the highest level, talent alone isn’t enough, you need the temperament and willingness to work hard at all times. Gary Neville might not have been the most-gifted footballer, but he became the captain of Manchester United through a combination of hard work, determination and a will to win. An integral part of the Class of 92, the Englishman went onto spend 19 years playing for his beloved club, whilst winning 19 major trophies in the process.
Whether it was the pace to get back and forth on the flanks, ability to put in some magnificent crosses or the ability to perfectly time a tackle, Neville had everything that a full back needed to succeed. So you can certainly see why Sir Alex Ferguson called him “the best right back of his generation”.
Peter Schmeichel
Since signing for Manchester United in 1991 for a paltry sum of £530,000, the Danish keeper went onto to win 10 trophies in his hugely successfull stint at the club. As good as United were, going forward in the 90’s, it was Schmeichel who came to the rescue on several occasions with some mind-blowing saves. The Dane was a revelation at the club and was rightly regarded by some as the best keeper to have ever played in the Premier League.
High praise indeed, but one that is wholly justified from his performances on the pitch. After all, if you are the proud owner of a “Save of the Decade Award” from the Premier League, then you must have done something right.
Roy Keane
His most-recent book sees him lashing out at Ferguson and questioning several calls made at United. What that shows beyond anything else is the simple fact that Roy Keane was just the most passionate and driven player to have ever played for the Red Devils and still cares about the club. Driven, committed and passionate and a symbol of everything that the club stood for, Keane was a team player above all else.
When players are signed for a lot of money, they either raise their game or hide behind their past successes. The Irishman was certainly the former, as the most expensive British transfer at the time became the Manchester United’s most-decorated and arguably the most-influential captain of all-time.
Paul Scholes
In an age, where footballers are being paid vast sums of cash and are doing a lot more than just playing football, Paul Scholes is a throwback to an era long gone. He didn’t do pre-match interviews or post-match press conferences, he wasn’t in the tabloids nor was he found in parties and pubs, all Scholes wanted to do was to play football and he did that quite well.
Third on the list of all-time leading appearance makers and 10th on the list of all-time leading goal scorers, Scholes was a one-club man who gave his heart and soul to Manchester United. Many players regard him as the finest playmaker of his generation and rightly so, for there weren’t many better than him at picking out a team mate or shooting from distance.
Ryan Giggs
Words aren’t enough to describe what Ryan Giggs has done, to not just Manchester United, but British football on the whole. His records are simply mind-boggling and to merely recite them all will be a disservice to Giggs, the footballer. For the Welshman is much more than mere numbers, he was the lifeblood of the United team that dominated the early years of the Premier League.
If Scholes was the general that dictated the play, Giggs was the soldier who put himself in harm’s way and won the battles. He might not have many individual awards to show for it, but the fact that he is the most decorated British player of all-time is reward enough for his talent. To break into the starting of a club like United is one thing, but to stay there for more than two decades shows just how good Giggs truly is.
Denis Irwin
Back in the 1990’s, although there were certainly plenty of full backs who got forward and helped out in attack, that task always came secondary to staying back and defending. Back then, Denis Irwin was one of those few full backs, who could both attack and defend with consummate ease.
The defender from Cork, who was signed from Oldham Athletic for just £625,000 back in 1990, made over 500 appearances for the Red Devils including close to 300 Premier League appearances in his 12 year stint with the club. Not only was he versatile enough to play as a right or a left back, but he was also Mr.consistent. Irwin’s dead ability was beyond question and he was arguably Ferguson’s best bargain signing.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo might now be breaking goal-scoring records left, right and centre, but it was only a decade back that he was a skinny winger who was trying to make his mark on Manchester United. Although he had a slow start to life in England, as the years passed, not only did he become more fitter and stronger but also started becoming the all-round threat that he is today.
Whether it was scoring a diving header from just a few yards out or a screamer from about 50 yards, a simple tap in or a sublime free kick, Ronaldo could do it all. From a young winger who tried to do too much to one of the most lethal finishers in world football, it was at United that Ronaldo transformed into what he is today and that is why he deserves a place on this list.
Wayne Rooney
Whether you love him or hate him, you simply can’t deny the fact that Wayne Rooney has been an omnipresent presence in the United side over the last decade. To be in starting XI, week-in and week-out for the most successful club in England for the best part of a decade shows just pivotal Rooney has been.
Although he hasn’t always played as a central striker at Old Trafford, he still sits in third-place on the list of the club’s all-time leading goal scorers chart. And it looks as though it is only a matter of time before he overcomes Bobby Charlton’s record for both club and country. While it is true that might not be a genuinely world class striker, the simple fact is, there is no one else in the world, who has shown themselves to be consistently good across a variety of positions in attack, while getting into double figures season-after-season for both goals and assists.
Rio Ferdinand
While it is true that Rio Ferdinand’s last 18 months with the club didn’t go according to plan, it is fair to say that he did more than enough in the decade before that, to repay the faith shown in him by Ferguson, who made him the world’s most expensive defender at the time.
When the Englishman arrived in 2002, there were question marks about the transfer fee involved and whether United had overspent on a defender. But his performances for United showed that he was certainly capable of living up to the hype surrounding him. His partnership with Nemanja Vidic will go down as one of the finest in the club’s illustrious history.
Eric Cantona
Before the Frenchman came to Old Trafford, the club hadn’t won a League title in 26 years. After he left, the club became the major force in English football. It is simply that simple. There hasn’t been a single player, who, in the entire history of the club, has been more important to Manchester United than Eric Cantona was, in his five years with the club.
For what Cantona did wasn’t just score goals or create them for others, but develop a winning mentality that helped the club become the success they are today. “King Eric” as he is fondly called had that charisma that nobody else had and it was he who transformed the perennial bridesmaids into serial winners. For that and that alone, United fans will forever be in his debt.