Players

Players

First-team squad

As of August 2, 2007, according to combined sources on the official website.^[20][21]

No. Position Player 1 GK Edwin van der Sar 2 DF Gary Neville (captain) 3 DF Patrice Evra 4 DF Gabriel Heinze 5 DF Rio Ferdinand 6 DF Wes Brown 7 MF Cristiano Ronaldo 9 FW Louis Saha 10 FW Wayne Rooney 11 MF Ryan Giggs (vice-captain) 13 MF Park Ji-Sung 14 FW Alan Smith 15 DF Nemanja Vidić 16 MF Michael Carrick

No. Position Player 17 MF Nani 18 MF Paul Scholes 20 FW Ole Gunnar Solskjær 21 FW Dong Fangzhuo 22 DF John O'Shea 24 MF Darren Fletcher 26 DF Phil Bardsley 27 DF Mikael Silvestre 28 DF Gerard Piqué 29 GK Tomasz Kuszczak 33 MF Chris Eagles –– MF Anderson –– GK Ben Foster –– MF Owen Hargreaves

Reserves and academy

Former players

Club captains

Dates	Name	Notes
1878-1896	Unknown
1896-1903	Harry Stafford	Captain of Newton Heath and first captain of Manchester United
1904-1907	Jack Peddie
1907-1913	Charlie Roberts
1913-1919	George Stacey
1919-1922	George Hunter
1922-1928	Frank Barson
1928-1932	Jack Wilson
1932-1936	Hugh McLenahan
1936-1939	Jimmy Brown
1945-1953	Johnny Carey	First captain not from the United Kingdom
1953-1955	Allenby Chilton
1953-1958	Roger Byrne	Died in the 1958 Munich Air Disaster
1958-1966	Bill Foulkes
1966-1973	Bobby Charlton
1973-1979	Martin Buchan
1979-1982	Sammy McIlroy
1982-1994	Bryan Robson	Longest-serving captain in United's history
1991-1996	Steve Bruce	Co-captain with Bryan Robson from 1991 to 1994
1996-1997	Eric Cantona	First United captain from outside the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland
1997-2005	Roy Keane	Won more trophies than any other United captain
2005-present	Gary Neville	First club captain to be born in Greater Manchester since Roger Byrne

Player records

As of match played 19 May 2007 and according to the official statistics website.^[22] Players in bold are still currently playing for Manchester United.

Most appearances

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals
1	Sir Bobby Charlton	1956 - 1973	759	249
2	Ryan Giggs	1991 - present	716	140
3	Bill Foulkes	1952 - 1970	688	9
4	Gary Neville	1992 - present	540	7
5	Alex Stepney	1966 - 1978	539	2
6=	Tony Dunne	1960 - 1973	536	2
6=	Paul Scholes	1994 - present	536	137
8	Denis Irwin	1990 - 2002	529	33
9	Joe Spence	1919 - 1933	510	168
10	Arthur Albiston	1974 - 1988	485	7

Most goals

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals	Goals/Game Ratio
1	Sir Bobby Charlton	1956 - 1973	759	249	0.328
2	Denis Law	1962 - 1973	404	237	0.587
3	Jack Rowley	1937 - 1955	424	212	0.500
4=	Dennis Viollet	1953 - 1962	293	179	0.611
4=	George Best	1963 - 1974	470	179	0.381
6	Joe Spence	1919 - 1933	510	168	0.329
7	Mark Hughes	1983 - 1986, 1988 - 1995	466	164	0.352
8	Ruud van Nistelrooy	2001 - 2006	220	150	0.682
9	Stan Pearson	1937 - 1954	347	148	0.427
10	David Herd	1961 - 1968	265	145	0.547

European Footballers of the Year (Ballon d'Or)

The following players have won European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Denis Law - 1964
• Bobby Charlton - 1966
• George Best - 1968

Ladies team

Manchester United Ladies FC was founded in 1977, and officially became a part of Manchester United FC at the start of the 2001-02 season. They played in the Northern Combination league (the third tier of women's football in England) until they were controversially disbanded before the start of the 2004/5 season for financial reasons. The decision was met with considerable criticism given the huge profits made by Manchester United and also due to the fact that the teams were withdrawn from all their leagues before the players were even informed of the decision.