Manchester United All-Time Team for Foreign Players

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Carlos Tevez and Ronaldo

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Manchester United All-Time Team
Manchester United Greatest All-Time Team under Sir Alex. 
Manchester United Greatest All-Time Team under Sir Busby
Manchester United All-Time team for British isles (excluding England)
Manchester United Academy All-Time Team

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for Manchester United's foreign players.  I have done a blog team for Manchester United All-Time Team for English Players. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Even before the arrival Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986, Manchester United was the most popular club in England, despite not being the most successful side.  The Busby Babe created a lot of excitement for English football and then, the Munich air disaster turned the Red Devils into a team that everyone with a heart to follow.  By the late 1960's, the Trinity of Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best represented three parts of the United Kingdom.  They appealed to the fans from Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.  In 1968, Manchester United became the first English side to win the European Cup.  After the formation of the Premiership, they became the most successful club in English domestic football overtaking Liverpool for winning the most number of league titles.

Eric Cantona and Andrey Kanchelskis 

Team
GK: Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)
Peter Schmeichel was regarded as one of the greatest keeper of all-time. He was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993. He is best remembered for his most successful years at Manchester United, whom he captained to the 1999 UEFA Champions League to complete the Treble.  He is also the most capped player for  Denmark, with 129 games between 1987 and 2001, winning the Euro 92.  

GK: Edwin Van Der Sar (Netherlands)
Van Der Sar is the most capped player in Dutch history with 130 caps.  He went to 1994, 1998 and 2006 World Cup and Euro 1996, 2000 and 2004.  He was best remembered for being the Ajax keeper in 1995 that won the Champions' League and then, later for Manchester United for 6 seasons.  He won the Champions' League in 2007-2008. In between, he also played with Fulham and Juventus.

GK: David De Gea (Spain)
David De Gea began his career with Atlético Madrid.  He helped the team win both the Europa League and the Super Cup in 2010.  He joined Manchester United in June 2011 for £18.9 million, a British record for a goalkeeper at the time. He played there until 2023. Between 2014 and 2020, De Gea had 45 caps.  He was Iker Casillas' backup in the 2014 World Cup Finals. He was the starter at Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup Finals.

Juan Mata and David de Gea along with Ole Gunnar Solskjær 

RW/RB: Antonio Valencia (Ecuador)
Antonio Valencia  is probably the most successful Ecuadorean player ever played in Europe.  He first made his name with El Nacional at home before moving to Europe. He first played in Spain and then, found success with Wigan in England.  In 2009, he secured a big move to Manchester United and voted into the PFA team of the year for the season 2009-2010.  He left the club in 2019.

CB: Mikael Silvestre (France)
Mikael Silvestre began his career at Rennes in 1996, before moving to Inter Milan in 1998. He joined Manchester United in 1999, where he won five Premier League titles and the Champions League in in 2008. In his club career,  he also played for Arsenal, Werder Bremen, Portland Timbers and Chennaiyin. He played 40 times for France between 2001 and 2006.  He went to the 2006 World Cup Finals.

CB: Ronny Johnsen (Norway)
In 1996, Ronny Johnsen became the most expensive Norwegian defender when he signed for Manchester United.  He also played for Sem, Stokke, Eik-Tønsberg, Lyn, Lillestrøm, Beşiktaş, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Vålerenga. With the Red Devils, he won the 1999 Champions' League. He was capped 62 times for Norway. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1998.

CB:  Jaap Stam (Netherlands)
Jaap Stam became the most expensive Dutch player and the most expensive defender in the world when Manchester United bought him for 10.6 million pounds.  He played there between 1998 and 2001. He also played for PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, AC Milan and Ajax. Stam was capped 67 times for Netherlands, scoring three goals. He was in their squads for three European Championships and the 1998 World Cup.  He was considered one of the greatest Dutch central defenders of all-time.

Jaap Stam 

CB: Nemanja Vidic (Serbia)
Nemanja Vidic spent 9 seasons as the starting center-back at Manchester United from 2006 and 2014, where he won every major trophy and established himself as one of the best center-backs of his generation.  He also played for Inter Milan, Red Star Belgrade and Spartak Moscow.  He played 56 times for Serbia,  He went to the World Cup Finals in 2006 and 2010.

LB: Patrice Evra (France)
Patrice Evra began his career with Nice and then, Monaco. He played for the Red Devils from 2006 to 2014, where he became one of the best left backs in the world.  At the time of writing, he earned 81 caps and was a key player for France since 2008.  He was the captain of the national team.  At South Africa 2010, he led a player revolt against Raymond Domenech.

LB: Gabriel Heinze (Argentina)
Nicknamed Gringo, Heinze made a name for himself at Paris Saint-Germain, moving in 2004 to Manchester United and subsequently to Real Madrid, winning four trophies with the latter two clubs. He played 3 seasons in Manchester.  He started and finished his 18-year professional career with Newell's Old Boys. For his international career, Heinze played 72 times with Argentina, representing the nation at two World Cups and as many Copa América tournaments.

Gabriel Heinze 

DM: Nemanja Matić  (Serbia)

Nemanja Matić began his career at Kolubara, before joining Slovak side Košice in 2007. He moved to Chelsea in 2009. With Benfica, he won the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award.  He returned to Chelsea in 2014. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2014–15 season. In 2017, he joined Manchester United. With Serbia, he has over 48 caps since 2008. He went to 2018 World Cup. He was the Serbian Player of the year twice.

CM: Paul Pogba  (France)
Pogba began his senior career with Manchester United, but he moved to Juventus.  In Turin, he won the Golden Boy Award for the best player under-21 playing in Europe.  He also led Juventus to the Final of the 2015 Champions' League Final.  In 2016, Manchester United broke the all-time transfer fees to sign Pogba.  At the time of writing, he was capped 91 times for France.  He led France to reach the Final of Euro 2016 and to win the World Cup in 2018.

CM: Arnold Muhren (Netherlands)
Muhren was one of the few players who had won the European Cup (1972–73), the Cup Winners' Cup (1986–87) and the UEFA Cup (1980–81).  He first made his name by playing for Ajax with his brother Gerrie.  In 1978, he joined Ipswich, where he became one of the first Dutch players in the league.  Capped 23 times.  He was a part of the Euro 1988 winning team.  He crossed the ball to Marco Van Basten where he scored the famous volley goal in the Final against the Soviet Union.

Arnold Muhren 

AM/CM: Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes began his career in Italy, starting at Novara before moving to Udinese and then Sampdoria. In 2017, he joined Sporting CP in Portugal. He was recognized as the Primeira Liga Player of the Year. In 2020, Fernandes moved to Manchester United. 

On the international stage, Fernandes made his senior international debut in 2017. He was part of the victorious Portuguese team in the 2019 Nations League, where he also earned a place in the Team of the Tournament.

AM/CM: Ander Herrera (Spain)
Ander Herrera began his career at Real Zaragoza, before moving to Athletic Bilbao in 2011 and then to Manchester United for €36 million in 2014. He won four trophies with the club, including the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League, and was named as their player of the year for the 2016–17 season.  He later played for PSG before returning to Bilbao in 2022. He was capped twice for Spain between 2016 and 2017.

CM/AM: Juan Mata (Spain)
Juan Mata was a youth academy player for Real Madrid, but he started with Valencia in 2007.  From 2011 to 2014, he played for Chelsea, where he was a major star for the team.  After a fallout with Jose Mourinho, he moved to Manchester United.  Ironically, they would reunite again at Old Trafford. For Spain, he was a part of the team that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later.

RW: Andrey Kanchelskis (Russia)
Andrey Kanchelskis  was one of the first players after the collapse of the USSR that succeeded in the West. He is remembered for his spells with English clubs Manchester United and Everton, and in Scotland with Rangers. Despite being an ethnic Lithuanian born in Ukraine, he chose to play for Russia, where he played over 35 times between 1992 and 1998.  He was also capped by USSR and CIS. 

RW/LW/RB: Park Ji-Sung (South Korea)
Park Ji-Sung is the most decorated Asian footballer in history, as the first Asian footballer to have won the Champions League trophy, the first Asian footballer to play in a Champions League Final, as well as the first Asian footballer to have won the Club World Cup.   He spent 7 seasons with Manchester United. He also played Kyoto Purple Sanga, PSV and QPR.  For the national team, he earned 100 caps and went to 4 World Cup Finals: 2002, 2006, and 2010.

LW: Jesper Olsen (Denmark)
Jesper Olsen started his senior career for Næstved IF before joining Ajax.  From 1984 to 1988, he played for Manchester United, where he won a FA Cup. He also played for Bordeaux and Caen. For Denmark, he was capped 43 times.  He was a member of Danish Dynamite.  However, his mistake in the quarterfinal of the 1986 World Cup Finals against Spain led to Emilio Butragueño's first goal in the match.

FW/LW: Cristano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Cristano Ronaldo is one of the greatest forward of his generation.  He is the most expensive players in history from 2009-2013 when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid.  At the time of writing, he won the Ballon d'Or winner five times and won Champions' League titles with both Manchester United and Real Madrid.  In 2016, he helped Portugal to win the European Championship, a month after winning the Champions' League with Real Madrid. At the time of writing, he joined Juventus.

Cristano Ronaldo

FW: Eric Cantona (France)
Before joining Leeds United in 1992, Eric Cantona was known as the bad boy of French football.  He moved to England to restart his career.  In England, he became a huge star.  He won the league title with Leeds United and moved to Manchester United in 1992.  At Manchester United, he became one of their best ever players. For the national team, he had 45 caps.  He was a part of the ill-fated national team that failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals in 1994. 

ST/SS: Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
Tevez made his name with Boca Juniors by winning the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 2003 before moving to Corinthians. In 2006,  he moved to West Ham United, but Tevez transferred to Manchester United in 2007 and in his two years won several trophies including the Champions League. In 2009 he joined Manchester City. In 2013, he moved to Juventus, helping them to dominate Italian football.  He earned over 70 caps and appeared in two WC Finals.

ST: Dwight Yorke (T&T) 
Yorke was best remembered for his stint with Manchester United.  In 1998-199 season,  Manchester United won the triple(the Premier League, the FA Cup and the  Champions' League), where he was both the top scorer in the Preimership  and the Champions' League. Along with Russell Latapy and Pat Jennings, Yorke holds the record number of participations in different World Cup competitions, including qualifying stages – six in total (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010).

Dwight Yorke

ST: Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Norway)  

Nicknamed "The Baby-faced Assassin", Solskjaer played 12 seasons for Sir Alex at Manchester United.  He is known to be "super sub" on the team.  He often scored important goals coming off the bench.  He was probably best remembered for scoring the winning goal against bayern Munich at the 1999 Champions' league Final. He was capped 67 times for Norway.  He began his career in his native Norway with Clausenengen, for whom he scored 115 goals in 109 league appearances over five seasons

ST: Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a prolific goal scorer. He won the top scorer award in three different European domestic leagues. He started with PSV Eindhoven.  He spent 5 seasons with Manchester United where he was voted as their best player twice.  With Real Madrid, he finished second as the European Golden Boot. He also played for Hamburger and Malaga. Van Nistelrooy earned 70 caps and scored 35 goals for the Netherlands. He played in 2006 World Cup and two European Championship.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Honorable Mention

Fabien Barthez (France), Tim Howard (USA), Carlo Sartori (Italy), Nikola Jovanović (Yugoslavia), John Sivebæk (Denmark), Rafael da Silva (Brazil), Matteo Dariman (Italy), Lisandro Martínez (Argentina), Raphaël Varane (France), Henning Berg (Norway), Casemiro (Brazil), Anderson (Brazil), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Juan Sebastian Veron (Argentina), Nani (Portugal), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium),  Robin van Persie (Netherlands), Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden),  Henrik Larsson (Sweden).

Squad Explanation
-- This version of the team was updated on May, 2024.

-- Carlo Sartori was the first ever foreign player to have signed for Manchester United, but he was raised in Manchester.  Nikola Jovanovic was the first foreign signing by the club.  Lou Macari was born in Scotland and played for them.

--  Manchester United won the the 1999 Champions League in a dramatic fashion.  I had 5 players selected from that team. Among them are Peter Schmeichel, Ronny Johnsen, Jaap Stam, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and Dwight Yorke. 

-- In 2008, Manchester United won the Champions' League with 5 foreigners on their starting lineup.  All five starters made this team.  They were Edwin Van der Sar, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic.  Mikaël Silvestre who sat on the bench also made this team.

-- Eric Cantona, Cristano Ronaldo, Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van de Var and Nemanja Vidic are also selected for my all-time Manchester United team.

-- Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Cristano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona won the PFA Player of the Year award while playing here. Ronaldo also won FWA Player of the Year award twice.

-- As of May 2024, based on transfermarkt data, the Netherlands holds the record for the largest contingent of foreign players in Manchester United's history, boasting a total of 16 players. Following closely behind are France with 14 players and Spain with 10 players.  This team also had the largest number of Dutch and French players with 4 each.

Goalkeepers

-- For goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel is the obvious choice here.  He is considered among the greatest goalkeeper in history.  Peter Schmeichel served as the linchpin that propelled Manchester United to dominate the league throughout the 1990s.  He led the team as captain to a momentous victory in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, thus achieving a remarkable treble.

-- Edwin Van De Var was chosen as the second best because he established a new record by keeping a clean sheet in 11 consecutive games, surpassing the previous mark. Moreover, he shattered the record for the longest duration without conceding a goal, reaching an impressive 1,311 minutes.  He also won a Champions' League in 2008.

-- Fabien Barthez might have won a lot of trophies for France, but David De Gea has been the team's best player since Sir Alex's retirement. For three consecutive seasons from 2013–14 to 2015–16, he was elected as United's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, the first player in the award's history to win on three successive occasions.  Tim Howard's stay was brief while Mark Bosnich struggled.  The verdict is still out for Andre Onana, but he has faced plenty of criticism. 

Defenders

-- Opinions differ when ranking the greatest central defender in Manchester United's history. While many consider Jaap Stam as the club's greatest ever, my personal desire was to witness the reunion of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic for my Manchester United All-Time team.  So, I left Stam off that team, but he was an undisputed selection here. Similarly, Nemanja Vidic's inclusion is unquestionable as well.  He played 9 seasons with Manchester United. The Rio-Nemanja partnership was the greatest ever for this club.  

Nemanja Vidic

-- Ronny Johnsen was Jaap Stam's reliable partner in the back.  His injury record did put down the list, but he still made this team. Then, I chose Mikael Silvestre over Laurent Blanc and Berg because he had a much longer career at Old Trafford.  Silvestre is often overlooked for his role in United’s Premier League domination in the early 2000s. But consider that he was an automatic starter as either a left-back or centre-back in three title winning seasons, before also picking up FA Cup and Champions League medals.

-- Lisandro Martínez endorsed a horrible debut in 2022.  Since then, he has recovered to establish a place on the team, but he is still a long way for a place on this team.  Raphaël Varane did not make an impact here.

-- Nikola Jovanović certainly deserves recognition as the first foreign player for Manchester United. However, his time at the club was marked by being played out of position and struggling to adapt to the England's long ball tactics employed. As a result, he found it difficult to settle down.  I only rewarded him with a place on honorable mention for being a pioneer. 

-- Antonio Valencia was signed as a replacement for Cristano Ronaldo, but later he turned into the best right-back in the world.   Rafael da Silva and Matteo Dariman were probably the only other rightbacks of note. So, I would use Jaap Stam and  Park Ji-Sung who also played as a rightback as my backups.  John Sivebæk lasted a single season here.

Antonio Valencia 

-- Patrice Evra usually ranked very high among the greatest defender for Manchester United.  He did not get into my Manchester United All-Time team because of Denis Irvin and Roger Byrne.  In 2019, I selected Gabriel Heinze because the lack of a suitable candidate.  His career suffered from injuries as well as being in the same team as Evra. Marcos Rojo also seldom played. 

Midfielders/Wingers

-- The central midfielders' position is very week.  Nemanja Matić, Juan Mata and Arnold Muhren were the only sure-in player.  Muhren was probably Manchester United's first successful foreign player.  He also played on the left wing, but I saw him as a central midfielder. Mata spent 8 seasons over here while Matić played 5 years.  Both were better players in Chelsea, but the lack of great players in this position secured them spots on the team.

-- Juan Sebastian Veron failed to live up to the potential and performances that were anticipated of him. Both Anderson and Marouane Fellaini struggled to make a significant impact and also fell short of meeting the expectations placed upon them.  Casemiro was not the same player in Madrid.  By comparison, Ander Herrera was less famous internationally, but his performance stood out and earned him recognition among fans and pundits alike, despite not being as widely known on the global stage.

-- While Paul Pogba has shown flashes of brilliance, there is a general consensus that Pogba had not consistently reached the level that was anticipated when he was signed for a substantial fee.  But he was Europa League Player of the Season in the 2016–17 season when Manchester United won their first continental trophy in 9 seasons. In Europe, Manchester United have only won the European Cup/Champions League three times, and the Europa League and the Cup Winners' Cup once each.  So the 2017 Europa League should be considered an important trophy.  So I added Pogba to the team even through his career here was imperfect.

-- In 2024, I added Bruno Fernandes to the team. Despite Manchester United's struggles during his time here, he managed to achieve remarkable accolades. His exceptional performances led to his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2020-21 Premier League season. Furthermore, he received the prestigious Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. He was also recognized as the FSA Men's Player of the Year and secured a place in the ESM Team of the Year for the 2020-21 season, despite Manchester United's overall performance not being at its best.

Bruno Fernandes 

-- During his 27-year tenure at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson openly acknowledged that his most significant regret was the decision to exclude Park Ji-Sung in the 2011 Champions League final.  He considered him one of his most underrated players. Park could play across multiple midfield and forward positions, and his extraordinary levels of endurance, which led to him being affectionately known as "Three-Lung" Park.

-- During his time, Andrei Kanchelskis stood as one of only 11 players in the First Division hailing from outside the British Isles. He spent four seasons in Manchester, consistently delivering solid performances even if he didn't always steal the spotlight.  As a result of his fallout with Sir Alex, he ultimately departed, paving the way for David Beckham's rise to the first team. 

-- Angel Di Maria's transfer to Manchester United from Real Madrid set a record for the highest fee ever paid by a British club at the time. However, He lasted only a year. At end of the season, The Daily Telegraph voted Di María the worst signing of the season.  So, he only made honorable mention.

-- The acquisition of Jesper Olsen by Manchester United in 1984 was an even greater rarity than Kanchelskis, despite the latter's being a former Soviet player signed at the end of Cold War. Olsen's transfer brought a sense of novelty to the club in an era with even lesser non-British players playing in England.  While his career may have had its share of inconsistencies, in his debut season, he played a crucial role in Manchester United's FA Cup triumph, where he took over the left wing position previously held by Arnold Muhren. This victory held significant importance, particularly considering the club's lack of success during that period.  Of course, Cristano Ronaldo was another left wing-forward on the team.  He spent a significant 7 seasons with Manchester United, establishing himself as the best player in the world during his time there. In 2008, he achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Champions' League.

-- Nani was well-decorated here. However, the expectations placed upon him were particularly high, primarily due to playing at the same time with Cristiano Ronaldo. Many anticipated that Nani would reach the same remarkable level as his illustrious teammate, which added to the weight of expectations surrounding him. I had to leave him off the team.

Forwards

-- After Eric Cantona joined Manchester United in 1992, the club entered a period of remarkable dominance in English football.  They won their first league title in 26 years on his first season. I gave him credit for that.

Eric Cantona

-- During his time at Manchester United, Ruud Van Nistelrooy received several prestigious awards, including the PFA Fans' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year in 2001-02, PFA Team of the Year in 2001-02 and 2003-04, and the IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 2002. These accolades reflect his outstanding contributions and immense talent during his tenure at the club.

-- Ole Gunnar Solskjær gained recognition for his numerous crucial goals as a substitute, while Dwight Yorke played a pivotal role in Manchester United's historic treble-winning season in 1998-1999, where the team secured the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League titles. On the other hand, Robin van Persie may have been considered a better player, as evidenced by his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year and winning the Golden Boot, which showcased his exceptional skills. However, his tenure at the club was limited to just three years. Despite Van Persie's individual brilliance, Yorke and Solskjær's revered status as heroes at Manchester United placed them ahead in terms of their lasting impact, in contrast to Van Persie, who remains more closely associated with his iconic status at Arsenal.

-- Many people ranked Van Persie ahead of Carlos Terez, but I really enjoyed that the three-pronged attack of Wayne Rooney, Crisitano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.  They were considered  to be the greatest attack line ever by Sir Alex Ferguson. They were referred to as the second Holy Trinity.  Sir Alex often faced criticism from many who believed he lacked technical innovation compared to other great coaches. However, one area where he showcased innovation was in the effective interchange of roles between strikers and wingers within the  the second Holy Trinity. Therefore, Tevez was an important player in the Red Devils' history. In his two seasons here, he also won two Premiership and a Champions' league.  

Formation I
This lineup was more of an All-Star team than an actual formation. Cristano Ronaldo should be playing closer to the attack instead of wide left as a traditional winger.  It was also well-known that Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo did not get along as teammates.

Formation II
I dropped Van Nistelrooy to utilize Cristano Ronaldo as a wing-forward.