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Manchester United’s Best Ever Centre-Backs
Manchester United have had some outstanding defenders throughout the club’s illustrious history of dominance in English football.
The centre of defence is perhaps the most important position on the pitch and Manchester United have had some brilliant leaders throughout their history.
Whether it’s Steve Bruce, Nemanja Vidic, or Bill Foulkes, United have had some world-class defenders in their ranks.
Here are our top 11 picks for the best central defenders that United have ever had.
11 – Paul McGrath
Beginning our list is Republic of Ireland defender Paul McGrath. The Irish defender moved to Old Trafford from St Patrick’s Athletic in 1982.
McGrath spent six years at Old Trafford and was certainly a ‘Rolls Royce’ of a defender and he would go on to win the PFA Player Of The Year award for Aston Villa in 1993.
For United, McGrath made 182 appearances for the Red Devils but things would eventually fizzle out for the defender. Nevertheless, he deserves a spot on our list.
10 – Duncan Edwards
Starting off the list of greatest Manchester United centre-backs of all time is the precocious talent that was Duncan Edwards.
Incredibly, in a single season, the talented Edwards made over 100 appearances for club, country and national service regiments.
Tragically, Edwards was one of the eight who died following the Munich air disaster in 1958. Despite his career being cut short, Edwards went on to make 140 appearances for United and scoring 16 times.
9 – Mark Jones
Mark Jones, alongside Edwards, was a fantastic defensive option for United, but he had to wait a while for his turn in the team.
Allenby Chilton, who was Jones’ hero, had been ahead of him in the pecking order but Jones got his chance in 1955.
A physically imposing defender for the Red Devils, Jones made the position his own before being another name to lose his life during the 1958 disaster.
8 – Martin Buchan
For an entire decade, Buchan was an influential player for Manchester United. Buchan made his debut for United in 1972 and made the position his own.
Frank O’Farrell signed Buchan for a then club-record fee of £125,000. After a poor start, Buchan, and the team, improved and he eventually became captain of the side.
He made 456 appearances during his time at Old Trafford, scoring four goals, and played 34 times for Scotland, including two World Cups in 1974 and 1978.
7 – Allenby Chilton
Allenby Chilton made his debut for United in 1939, before the Second World War and he would remain at Old Trafford until 1955, establishing himself as a club legend.
Chilton went on to make 199 appearances for the Red Devils before Mark Jones took his role in the United side.
The defender played a key role in the 1948-49 FA Cup triumph as well as the 1951-52 league title victory under Sir Matt Busby.
6 – Gary Pallister
The next two options were a toss-up but Gary Pallister comes in at number six for United with the defender joining the club from Middlesbrough in 1989.
Pallister would certainly get into United’s best XI of the 1990s and he formed a brilliant partnership with Steve Bruce as the Red Devils got their hands on multiple Premier League titles.
The defender would remain at Old Trafford until 1998 before being replaced by Dutch defender Jaap Stam.
5 – Steve Bruce
As mentioned, this was certainly a tough decision but Steve Bruce just about edges ahead of Gary Pallister.
Bruce became United captain in 1994 and was one of the best defenders in the country before he was eventually eased out of the team and departed Old Trafford to Birmingham City.
Roy Keane was critical of Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to move Bruce on but with 397 appearances to his name, as well as 46 goals, he makes our top five.
4 – Jaap Stam
Replacing Pallister in the United lineup was Dutch defender Jaap Stam who moved to Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven and made 79 appearances for the club.
Ronald De Boer has claimed Stam was better than Virgil Van Dijk and the impact that the Dutchman made at Old Trafford cannot be forgotten.
Stam was vital for United during the treble-winning campaign but it was a rather sad end to his time at the club as he was sold to Lazio for reportedly betraying Sir Alex Ferguson.
3 – Nemanja Vidic
Kicking off our top three is Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic. After moving to Old Trafford in January of 2006, Vidic struggled immensely and looked to be a flop signing made by Ferguson.
However, Vidic soon improved for the Red Devils and would go on to captain the club and make 300 appearances in total before departing for Inter Milan in 2014.
Rio Ferdinand labelled Vidic as his ‘best’ teammate at United and the pair formed a brilliant partnership as the Red Devils won multiple Premier League titles.
2 – Rio Ferdinand
At number two we have Vidic’s United teammate, Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand moved from Leeds United to Manchester United and proved to be one of the best defenders in Premier League history.
Current United defender Matthijs De Ligt idolised Ferdinand and it’s easy to see why the Englishman has inspired several of the top ball-playing defenders in the world.
His brilliant abilities on the ball meant his excellent defensive work was perhaps underrated but him and Vidic were perfect for each other as United won five league titles.
1 – Bill Foulkes
Coming in at number one is a player that younger fans may not have heard of but Bill Foulkes had to be top of our list.
The loyal defender remained at United from 1952-1970. Foulkes, who sadly passed away in 2013, made 688 appearances for United and provided so much solidity for Sir Matt Busby’s side that he was a constant in the side.
A survivor of the 1958 disaster, Foulkes captained the depleted side through the aftermath of that tragic day and went on to win multiple titles including the 1968 European Cup at Wembley against Portuguese giants SL Benfica.
Foulkes retired in May 1970 but remained at Old Trafford as a coach before moving on to work in the USA, Norway and Japan.
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