Manchester United have had some of football’s most famous stars play for them.
But which players have been the most impressive both for and against the Red Devils?
Well according to talkSPORT’s resident Man United fan Mark Goldbridge, there’s three players on both sides that stand out.
And it turns out one of them even influenced his hairstyles when he was younger!
“I think my three top players of all time. It changes sometimes but there is a consistency to it so I’m just going with the three I consistently pick,” the talkSPORT host said when asked who is top three Man United players of all time are.
“Certainly Roy Keane. I’ve mentioned him before, he’s just a role model, as a lad I used to love his energy, his tenacity, he’s a good player as well, a leader, aggressive. I just love all that.”
Another star from that era earns a spot in Goldbridge’s heart too and, unsurprisingly, this one influenced his trip to the barbers.
“David Beckham I liked for different reasons,” he continued. “I mean, I remember I even had a hairstyle like him. When he got sent off against Argentina I was probably one of the only people in the country that stuck up for him.
“I just love the way he played the game, I don’t think he was the most naturally talented player but technically he just had a wand of a right foot. I love Beckham.”
One active player makes it into Goldbridge’s top three, and he gets in despite the unsavoury end to his second spell at Old Trafford before his move to current club Al Nassr in January.
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He continued: “And then, Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo I think. It’s close, there’s a few others but I think I’d go Cristiano Ronaldo because I just think for two or three years he was the best player in the world and he was playing for Manchester United.
“Talking about goals and best goals I’ll never forget that free-kick against Portsmouth at Old Trafford in ’08 as well. It was a pleasure to have a player playing for you that you knew was the best players in the world.
“It’s just a shame he went to Real Madrid.”
But as much as those three Man United stars’ heroics have imprinted themselves into Goldbridge’s memory, as have the performances of their rivals’ legends.
“As for players that have been annoying over the years, there’s been a couple of individual performances,” Goldbridge said.
“I remember [Liverpool’s Fernando] Torres at Old Trafford scoring a hattrick. But I think consistently I’ve gone for three from different eras.
“In the current era, I think Mo Salah is ridiculously consistent against United, he always seems to score.”
Salah has netted 12 goals against Man United in as many games, the most he’s scored against any other Premier League side. No wonder Goldbridge fears him!
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It’s no surprise Goldbridge gives a nod to a former Arsenal player that starred for the Gunners under Arsene Wenger during United’s fierce rivalry with them at the top of the Premier League in the 2000s.
“A little bit further back you’ve got Thierry Henry, I was always scared of him,” he said. “I didn’t particularly like him as a player because he had that arrogance and va-va-voom. He was just always a thorn in the side of Manchester United.”
But away from their better known rivals, there’s one other man that Goldbridge remembers being a troublesome opponent back in the day – Premier League record goalscorer, Alan Shearer.
“Then a little bit before that, another player I never really liked who wouldn’t sign for us but did score a lot of goals against us was Alan Shearer, who played in a team that won the league in front of us in ’95 for Blackburn.
“I’ll go with those three. There’s been a few, but those three across the Premier League era.”
But while Goldbridge looks back on all the amazing performances all of these players have given in their careers, he also explained to talkSPORT why he thinks stars like Keane don’t exist today.
