Manchester United have had some legendary players throughout the Premier League era. They have had some stellar academy graduates including the esteemed Class of ‘92, right to the modern-day stars flying the Carrington flag, such as Marcus Rashford.
The Red Devils have brought in some fantastic players from outside the club, too. Many of these successful signings have come under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The iconic former United boss made some inspirational additions during his lengthy stint at the helm, contributing to the extraordinary dynasty he built at Old Trafford.
United’s best signings under Ferguson
Arguably the best signing United’s former manager made in his time at the club was that of Wayne Rooney. The Englishman joined from Everton in 2004 in a deal that could have risen as high as £27m.
He left the club over a decade later, scoring 253 goals, the most in the club’s history, and grabbing 139 assists in 559 games. The former United captain helped Ferguson’s side to five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his time at the club.
Another of the very best signings the Scotsman made during his time in charge at Old Trafford was Eric Cantona. The iconic Frenchman, lovingly nicknamed “King Eric” by United fans, cost the club just £1.2m from arch-rivals Leeds United.
Over his time at the club, Cantona played 182 games, scoring 82 times. He is known for some iconic moments in a United shirt, with his best strike arguably coming against Sunderland in 1996/97, a superb chip over the goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area.
Player
Signed from
Seasons
Games
Denis Irwin
Oldham Athletic
12
521
Roy Keane
Nottingham Forest
13
479
Brian McClair
Celtic
11
450
Rio Ferdinand
Leeds United
11
432
Gary Pallister
Middlesborough
9
423
There were plenty of other iconic signings made by Ferguson. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke formed a legendary strike partnership, Roy Keane went on to become one of the all-time great Premier League midfielders, and Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic became a formidable centre-back duo.
However, none might be better than the legendary Portuguese attacker, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s Man United career
There are few in the history of the game who can contend with the career of Cristiano Ronaldo. Man United can count themselves lucky, being one of the clubs that the Portugal captain has represented.
He had two spells at Old Trafford, but it was his first, between 2003 and 2009, that his legacy was really made. The Red Devils paid his former club Sporting a reported £12.24m just over 21 years ago to sign him. To say that it was money well spent would be a huge understatement.
Ronaldo was simply spellbinding during his first spell at Old Trafford. Under Ferguson he flourished, with the Scotsman becoming something of “a father in football” to the attacker, acting as “the key” to him joining United as an 18-year-old. Those were Ronaldo’s own words from 2021.
His record speaks for itself. Under Ferguson in that famous Red shirt, the former United number seven played 292 games, scoring 118 goals and registering 62 assists. He helped the Red Devils win several major honours, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. Ronaldo also won the Ballon d’Or that same year, the most recent United player to win the accolade.
There is little need to go into lots of detail about the type of player he was at Old Trafford because exactly what he offered is very well known. In his early days, the then-teenager was a tricky winger with explosive pace and an eye for goal, able to score from anywhere on and any type of finish. He was a set-piece master and scored his fair share of freekicks from all sorts of angles.
United hearts were broken in 2009 when the Portugal international left the club for Real Madrid, where he cemented his place as one of the all-time greats. The silver lining from that deal was the price.
He cost Los Blancos what was at the time a world-record fee of £80m, ensuring United made an incredible profit. His value rose by an extraordinary 553% increase in the six years he was at the club.
The late, great Sir Bobby Charlton, another of four men to win the Ballon d’Or as a United player, once described the current Al Nassr man as a “marvellous” footballer.
Ronaldo will go down in the club’s history as one of their greatest-ever players, and his legacy at the Theatre of Dreams will forever be iconic.
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