Your top 5 favourite Manchester United players of all time

[Parma Dewol]

This sort of thread has almost certainly been done before, but hey, it's the international break, what else are we to do?

Slight twist on this one is the word 'favourite,' whose definition is only what you want to make it. In contrast to goats, a favourite can be a very personal thing. Perhaps a player who gave you a signature, or one that did something that will forever remain in your heart. Heck, they may only have made a few appearances in the famous shirt, but that doesn't diminish your admiration of the individual.

I'll start.

1. Eric Cantona
   - The undisputed king. Rarely do you see a player so charismatic on and off the field, sheer magnetism and an absolute hero growing up.
2. David Beckham
   - Be it man, woman or child, everyone loved Becks when I was at school. Scores from the halfway line, marries a Spice Girl, this was the stuff of legend. To be vilified to such an extreme and come back even stronger was incredible to see.
3. Wayne Rooney
   - Controversial to an extent due to his off-field persona, but perhaps that added to the fire he brought to the field. And oh boy, what fire. A young, angry and riled-up Rooney was a sight to see.
4. Nemanja Vidic
   - He comes from Serbia. That's all I have to say.
5. Robin Van Persie
   - Majestic in a unique way that remains so unique. His volley against Villa will always remind me of how great United was.

Over to you.

 

[RedUnited86]

I don't think I could rank them in order but I'll go for Keane, Vidic, Kanchelskis, Rooney and Irwin.

 

[Ayoba]

Beckham, Ronaldo, Stam, Rio, Scholes.

 

[BootsyCollins]

1. Eric Cantona
Always has been, is and always will be my favourite.

2. Paul Scholes
For his playing abilities, but also because of a picture in a fanzine from the early 2000´s were he had an absurd picture of him i cant forget.

3. Anderson
Just loves the guy, dont know why actually.

4. OGS
He is Norwegian and i watched him score that goal with my father, its one of the best moments in my life. Also have met him some times and he is a nice guy.

5. Rio Ferdinand
For me, the definition of a Rolls Royce player. Class.

 

[Pughnichi]

Kanchelskis - loved that guy
Evra - the way he absolutely bought into the club and it’s history
RVN - always felt he was gonna score
Cole - a tough start to his Utd career and desperately wanted him to succeed. Turns out he did
Cantona - don’t need a reason

Honourable mentions and somewhat unexpected/controversial…

Hargreaves - just felt safe with him on the pitch. Such a shame it lasted 1 season
Tevez - liked the tenacity of him

Prob helps the last two being part of a successful team

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

Keane
Rooney
Scholes
Solskjaer
Evra

not entirely sure on the order but Keano is number one.

 

[Old Ma Crow]

Cantona
Scholes
Keane
Evra
Beckham

 

[Dirty Schwein]

Keane
Schmeichel
Berbatov
Schweinsteiger (not his stint at United though)
Rafael

 

[PeteReDevil]

Cantona, Kanchelskis (though I'm surprised we already are a few, with him on our list), Keane, Vida, Rooney

 

[Jimble]

1. Cantona - embodied everything I loved about that team.
2. Scholes - a little asthmatic ginger kid who was an absolute baller.
3. Giggs - the player, not the man
4. Beckham - No explanation needed
5. Sharpe - he always had that spark

 

[pastyfool]

In no order.

Olsen
Kanchelskis
Cantona
Cole
Solskjær

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Cantona: the king of kings, coolest man to ever walk the earth, an absolutely electric charisma, skill full, passionate and hard as feck
Keane: so so so so driven. Made everyone around him better by inspiration and fear
Andy Cole: just because
Schmeichel: the greatest gk to ever play the game. At his peak worth an extra 10/12 points a season on his own
Becks: just because

honourable mentions For Steve Bruce Bryan robson Rvn and giggsy

 

[Oranges038]

Jadon Sancho
Phil Jones
Alexis Sanchez
Paul Pogba
Harry Maguire

 

[Oldyella]

I think the order could vary depending on the day of the week, but Keane would probably be top more often than not.

Keane, Robson, Rio, Cole & OGS

Honorable mention for Mike Smalling. Not a clue why just liked the guy.

 

[Gavinb33]

Lee Sharpe - the 1st player i actually wanted to be as a 11 year old, he seemed so cool at the time

Scholes - Played the game how i like to see it played

Rio - played my position

Andy Cole - unfairly treated by many a phenomenal striker

Cantona - the arrogance, the collar, the chest out, the kung fu kick etc etc

 

[VivaObertan]

Covering the 30 years of fandom...

Cantona, Scholes, RvP, Valencia, Fernandes

Honourable mentions to Solskjaer, Ronaldo, Rooney, Evra, Vidic, Zlatan

 

[ForFuchsSake]

Seeing as I grew up in the early Noughties, my list would be something like this, based up on players I’ve seen:

1: Cristiano Ronaldo - that 42 goal season was something special. That version of Ronaldo was far more exciting and dazzling as well. Him dicking around with the ball around the corner flag against Arsenal, and then being absolutely cleaned out by Sagna (I think?) will always be a special memory.

2: Ruud van Nistelrooy - perhaps more for nostalgia this one. I just recall doing his famous celebration on the playground and he was utterly lethal for us. Because of my age, I don’t think I’d paid great attention to his somewhat limited all round game either. All about the goals with this one.

3: Robin van Persie - simply for that spell-binding 2012/13 season. A majestic footballer with a wand for a left foot. His uniqueness as a player makes him stand out and even over the following decade, I rarely see goals that resemble some of the finest he scored (even in his brief spell for us). Also helps that Arsenal fans completely hate his guts too.

4: Michael Carrick - probably quite controversial to place him this high but I do think his contribution to United is severely under appreciated. Perhaps not by fellow pros but definitely by fans (especially rival ones). Tactically so astute, game intelligence and passing ability. What he lacked in mobility and athleticism, he certainly made up for in spatial awareness and positioning.

5: Paul Scholes - majestic passing range, composure (passing wise) and ability to dictate a game. Sorely missed now instead of having the likes of no-touch McTominay and L1 + triangle spammer in Fernandes.

 

[Scandi Red]

Random order, only players I've seen live:

- Scholes
- Beckham
- Solskjær
- Park

These 4 stand out to me. A maestro of the game, the most precise right-foot I've seen, the ultimate substitute and the ultimate utility player.

I'm struggling to pick the last one. Keane, Cantona, VDS, Ruud... So many good options. I never saw Irwin live (or I was too young to remember), but I think he would be my 5th if I did. In the more recent era I like De Gea and Bruno.

 

[Lyng]

In no particular order:

- Beckham
- Scholes
- Carrick
- RvP
- Cantona

 

[AndySmith1990]

Cantona
Keane
Beckham
Scholes
Giggs

Mentality, flair, drive, leadership, excitement, and a will to win. Led by the greatest manager football has seen, they all embodied everything I loved about United, and everything I miss about United now

 

[Ali Dia]

Keane. Being Irish he was always my favourite Irish player

Eric. The coolest player we’ve had since Best

Rooney. So exciting. Capable of the sublime. I’m going to forget about the last few years

Scholes. A genius.

Robson. Laid the foundations for Fergies dynasty. Roy of the rovers performances. I was only really young but he was heartbeat of the United team and always left it all out there.

Honourable mentions for Fred and Anderson. I just loved the way they played the game with a smile on their faces

Least favourite players. Pogba, Lingard, Ince (even though he was classy on the ball and gutsy and I followed him at Inter he’s obviously a bit of a knob) the Rashford who walks around sulking does my nut, Di Maria, Sancho now too obviously. I guess I just don’t like modern footballers as much now we can hear from them and about them all the time.

 

[RedUnited86]

Honourable mentions for

Onana
Mount
Højlund
Amrabat
Bayindir

 

[Devil81]

Did mine a bit different as I think we all find attackers and midfielders more exciting. Also only did players I've seen rather than George Best etc..

Attackers/Midfielders


Cantona
Keane
Scholes
Beckham
Rooney

Defenders

Rio
Vidic
Stam
Irwin
Pallister

 

[Wilt]

1.Cantona - Magnificent! There’ll never be another.

2. Rooney - Naturally gifted. Explosive energy.

3. Zlatan - Amazing talent. Such a shame Utd didn’t get him 5 years earlier.

4. Nistelrooy - Clinical. Pacey. Intellegence with an eye for goal.

5. Vidic - Superb commander.

*** Special mention for Charlton, Best and Stiles - no explanation necessary.

 

[groovyalbert]

The players that come immediately to mind are those from my childhood/teenage years.

1. Beckham - epitome of a childhood hero. Saw him score from the halfway line attending my first ever football match. That helps.
2. Rooney - I was 13 when he joined and he encapsulated the best years of following Utd for me.
3. Van Nistelrooy - goal machine and deadly. Deserved to win more during his time here.
4. Van der Sar - thought he was the coolest keeper I'd ever seen. Such a good change from what we'd had to put up with since Schmeichel (also honorable mention).
5. Solskjaer - tough last choice, and it's between him, Fletch and Park. Basically a player who sacrificed and gave everything. What Ole offered was remarkable. Don't think you'd see that today.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Scholes

Cantona

Schmeichel

van Nistelrooy

Solskjaer

Beckham

Keane

I know it's seven but I couldn't resist. In no order either, all hold a place in my personal fandom and I think sum up a lot about how I approach football.

 

[711]

Best, Giggs, Ronaldo, Robson, Coppell

Stevie Coppell doesn't get into my best ever team but he was tremendously effective for us and England

edit: bollocks, delete Stevie, add Cantona. Must stop, I could edit all day

 

[JPB]

This is so hard to pick.

Probably something like:

1. Scholes

2. Cantona

3. Ronaldo

4. Nani

5. Rio

 

[gregwar]

Cantona
Solskjaer
Scholes
Keane
van Nistelrooy

Harsh on Irwin and Stam not being in there. Loved Kanchelskis too.

 

[Amsterdam Devil]

Cantona, Schmeichel, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney

 

[Desert Eagle]

Cantona, Scholes, Giggs, Vidic, Keane

 

[Offside]

1. Vidic
2. Scholes
3. Cole
4. Rooney
5. Keane

 

[Sunny Jim]

Roy Keane x5, i like many players but i feel the reason for which i am who a im right now is him.

 

[The Cat]

Only from those I have seen live:

Sharpe
Cantona
Robson
Keane
Rooney

Very harsh on loads to leave out.

 

[christinaa]

Best
Best
Best
Best
Best

 

[OL29]

1. Scholes
2. Beckham
3. Rooney
4. Ferdinand
5. Andy Cole/ RVN

 

[711]

Really pleased to see how many have included Andrew Cole, I've always thought he was under-appreciated by our fans, but maybe not.

 

[GMoore23]

1: Giggs
2: Keane
3: Beckham
4: Cantona
5: Scholes

 

[Rossa]

This depends a little.

In terms of which players I enjoyed watching playing:
1. Giggs
2. Ronaldo
3. Evra
4. Scholes
5. Schmeichel

In terms of players quality, entertainment and how I perceive them off the pitch:
1. Scholes
2. Rio
3. Evra
4. Beckham
5. Carrick

Honourable mentions go to Rio, Vidic, RvP, Rafael, Valencia - Ronaldo would be high up the list for the second category if not for his last stint/stunt

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

Bear in mind I was born in 1993 so my admiration for United solidified into my early 00's.

In no particular order:
Giggs, Vidic, Rooney, Scholes.

Torn then between Van Persie, Zlatan, Saha and bizarrely Tevez.