30. Gary Pallister (1989-1998)
Pallister grew up a Middlesbrough supporter in County Durham and signed for the club when he was 19, going on to make over 150 appearances.
He moved to United in August 1989 for £2.3 million, a record fee for a defender at the time. He proved worth it, making over 300 appearances for United at the heart of the defence.
Having not previously played in the top flight, Pallister was initially prone to the odd lapse of concentration, but once he had ironed that out he became a powerhouse. A back injury suffered at the end of the 1995–96 season robbed him of a little pace. He returned to Middlesbrough to see out his career.
29. Norman Whiteside (1982-1989)
Born in Belfast and growing up in poverty on Shankill Road, Whiteside was a footballing prodigy. Legendary scout Bob Bishop persuaded Whiteside to sign, though initially the youngster remained in Belfast, flying to Manchester for training at weekends.
He made his first-team debut as a 16 year old and scored his first goal, in a 2-0 win over Stoke City, a mere eight days after he turned 17. He’s the youngest goalscorer in both an FA Cup and League Cup final.
Whiteside was strong, fearless, good with both feet and in the air and blessed with a cool temperament; the only thing he lacked was a yard of pace due to his constant knee and pelvic injuries.
28. Patrice Evra (2006-2014)
Born in Senegal, Evra only lived there for the first year of his life before his family moved to Belgium and then France.
Evra was a street footballer who started out as a striker before being moved to the wing and eventually full-back, though he never lost his instincts to get forward or to make overlapping runs on the wide left.
Originally, several clubs rejected him for being too small, but he was physically strong and tactically smart. After bouncing around various French clubs he found his true home at United, signing in January 2006 and going on to make over 270 appearances and win 14 major trophies.
27. Steve Bruce (1987-1996)
Bruce was a hugely popular figure at United, as much for his whole-hearted approach and his captaincy credentials as his playing style, which could occasionally be described as ‘agricultural’.
A late starter who had all but abandoned hope of playing professionally, Bruce was well into his twenties before attracting attention from the top clubs.
He signed for United at the end of 1987, just before he turned 27, and his determination brought him over 300 appearances and a handful of very important goals. Famously never capped by England, a strange omission, Bruce has since had a solid managerial career.
26. Martin Buchan (1972-1983)
Buchan was exactly the sort of player United needed as they sought, successfully, to bounce back after relegation, his strength of character and leadership being just as important as his play.
Captain for six years, Buchan was the first man to captain both Scottish and English Cup-winning sides – he led Aberdeen to victory over Jock Stein’s Celtic in 1970 – and was a star of the 1977 victory over Liverpool, in which he calmly marked Kevin Keegan out of the game.
Buchan made over 450 appearances for United, along with 34 for Scotland, despite playing in the years when both club and country were not at their most successful.
25. Mark Hughes (1980-1986, 1988-1995)
Welshman Hughes’ time at United was more eventful than most, encompassing two separate periods. Born in Wrexham, ‘Sparky’ joined United straight from school, having been spotted by the club’s North Wales talent scout Hugh Roberts.
He didn’t make his first team debut for three years but then scored 37 goals in 89 games before being transferred to Barcelona. He returned to United two years later and went on to make a further 256 appearances and score 83 goals.
A quiet soul off the pitch, on it Hughes was a rampaging force of nature. The fans loved his whole-hearted endeavour and spectacular volleyed goals.
24. Nemanja Vidic (2006-2014)
Looking to all the world like a shaven-headed Eastern European gangster, Vidić bulked up and quickly adapted to Premier League life after joining in January 2006.
Often described as ‘no nonsense’, Vidić was the perfect foil to the elegant Rio Ferdinand, the brick-wall stopper who wasn’t interested in bringing the ball out of defence, just preventing anyone from running through it.
His positional sense and combativeness were much prized by Ferguson and team-mates alike, as was his bravery in putting his head in when he knew he was likely to get clattered. Vidić played over 200 matches for United, won 15 major trophies with them and was named in the PFA Team of the Year on four separate occasions.
23. Dennis Viollet (1953-1962)
Viollet came through the ranks at United and turned professional in 1950, when he was 17, although he didn’t make his first-team debut for a further three years.
Lightning fast, he was the perfect foil for Tommy Taylor’s more physical presence, and together they terrorised defences and scored hatfuls of goals – Viollet’s 32 in a 36-game First Division in 1959–60 remains a club record.
He was surprisingly sold to Stoke in 1962, having scored 179 goals in 293 appearances. Manchester born, but a City fan, Viollet moved to America to coach and was instrumental in establishing their professional league.
22. David De Gea (2011-2023)
The tall Spaniard was initially deemed too lightweight for the physical challenges presented by the English Premier League and looked too easy to intimidate, but he has worked hard on becoming a more dominant figure on crosses.
Always there was his supreme shot-stopping and athletic ability to get to the ball, even in the corners of the goal. During a largely unsettled period for the club, he has saved them so many times that his record transfer price of £18.9 million has been made to look a bargain.
Four times he has been voted the club’s player of the year, and five times he has featured in the PFA Team of the Year.
21. Nobby Stiles (1960-1971)
Stiles was a defensive midfielder who did the ‘grunt’ work of winning and retaining possession, enabling the ball- players such as Best and Charlton to thrive further forward.
A teenaged England Schoolboys international at the time of Munich, Stiles was devastated by the loss of his heroes and determined to live up to their memories.
Although unprepossessing in appearance – Stiles was short, ungainly, very short-sighted and prematurely balding – he was an invaluable rock in the sort of holding midfielder role that was virtually unknown in the 1960s.
He played almost 400 games for United and is one of only three Englishmen to have won the World Cup and European Cup.
