Manchester United's achievements and reputation in the football world is quite remarkable. The club has won various competitions, ranging from the Premier League to the FIFA Club World Cup Competition. No wonder there are many people named this club as the best football team of all time.
In this article, I want to present a list of fifteen best Manchester United's strikers of all time. These forwards have huge contributions in bringing the Red Devils win numerous prestigious titles. Not only that, they also have very amazing individual skills and contribute a major role in the development of the football world's history.
Note: I did not include Cristiano Ronaldo in this list because even though he scored a lot of goals for Manchester United, Ronaldo played as a winger, not as a striker.
15. Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke once became one of the most expensive player ever signed by Manchester United. Purchased from Aston Villa in the 1998-1999 season, this Trinidad and Tobago striker had a pretty big role in helping Manchester United win the treble winners. In the same season, Yorke also managed to be the Premier League's top scorer with 18 goals. Played for four seasons, Yorke scored a total of 48 goals in 96 appearances for Manchester United.
14. Robin van Persie
Although van Persie has not even played for two seasons with Manchester United, his skills and contribution should be appreciated. In his first year playing for the Red Devils, the player managed to bring the Premier League title as well as became a top scorer of the competition. His duet with Wayne Rooney becoming one of the most feared duo in the Premier League. Not only in the Premier League, van Persie is also regarded as one of the best Dutch striker of all time.
13. Andy Cole
This England striker played for Manchester United from 1995 to 2001. Andy Cole was signed from Newcastle United after he successfully demonstrated scintillating performance, including by bringing Newcastle United won the league in the 1992-1993 season and became the top scorer in 1993-1994. He had a duet with the best Manchester United strikers, such as Eric Cantona, Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Dwight Yorke.
12. Harold Halse
Harold Halse is a former English striker who played a major role in helping Manchester United win their first English League title in the 1907-1908 season. One of his most memorable appearance was when he scored six goals in an FA Cup match against Swindon Town. Throughout the four years of playing for Manchester United, Halse scored 41 goals from 109 appearances. He also presented two Premier League titles and one FA Cup trophy.
11. Jack Rowley
Jack Rowley played for Manchester United for 17 years, from 1937 to 1954. This England striker is one of the top scorer of the Red Devils, with a record 211 goals in 424 appearances. At first, Rowley plays as a left midfielder. However, because he had good goal-scoring instinct, he was later positioned as a center forward. After his retirement, Rowley coached several clubs, such as Ajax Amsterdam and Oldham Athletic.
10. Teddy Sheringham
Sheringham's career at Manchester United actually is quite short, in which he only played for four seasons, from 1997 to 2001. He also spent more time as a substitute player. The number of goals that he scored is not too impressive as well, with only 31 goals from 104 appearances. However, his goals and assists saved his club from defeats and brought glories to Manchester United. One of his most memorable performance was when he scored a goal and an assists in the injury time during the Champions League 1998-1999 final match against Bayern Munich.
9. Dennis Viollet
Dennis Viollet was one of the players of Manchester United who survived a plane crash in 1958 in Munich. Since the accident, Viollet surprisingly played more impressive and scored more goals. One year after the tragedy, Viollet scored 32 goals in the English League competition, the highest number of goals ever scored by Manchester United player in that competition. Throughout his career, Viollet scored 179 goals for Manchester United.
8. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The retired Norwegian striker was nicknamed "Baby-Faced Assassin." No one thought that Solskjaer, a player with cute face could be very fierce in the penalty box. He scored a lot of goals, although he was more often played as a substitute. One of his greatest achievements was when he scored four goals in just about 13 minutes in the match against Nottingham Forest. Throughout his career with Manchester United, Solskjaer won six Premier League titles.
7. Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes is a former Welsh striker who played for Manchester United for 13 years. He presented two English League titles and three FA Cup trophies for the Red Devils. He became the most prominent striker for Manchester United in the period 1988 to 1995, although he spent some years playing for Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Throughout his career, Hughes scored 163 goals for Manchester United.
6. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Nistelrooy was typical of a target-man striker who possessed complete goal scoring ability. He had strong shooting power, great heading ability, and high technique. During five seasons playing for Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy scored 95 goals in 150 appearances. His best performance occurred in the 2002-2003 season, where he managed to help the Red Devils win the Premier League and became the top scorer of the competition.
5. Wayne Rooney
Considering his current form, Rooney seems very likely could be the Manchester United's top scorer of all time. Until this article was published, Rooney has scored 208 goals, just 41 goals away from the goals of Bobby Charlton, Manchester United's top scorer of all time. Rooney was signed from Everton in 2004. Since first joining Manchester United, Rooney has showed his world-class capacity. So far, Rooney has won five Premier League titles, one Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup trophy.
4. George Best
George Best is a retired front-winger who was known for his great speed and dribbling skill. The Northern Irishman played for Manchester United from 1963 until 1974, scoring 179 goals in 470 appearances. With Manchester United, Best won two English League titles and one FA Cup trophy. Not only that, in 1968 he was also awarded with Ballon d'Or and became a top scorer of English League.
3. Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona was nicknamed as "King" because his role was so dominant during his period playing for Manchester United. The Frenchman led Manchester United claim four Premier League titles and two FA Cup titles in 1992-1997. He is known as an explosive striker, very prolific in scoring, but also often creates disciplinary-related problems. Cantona ended his career as a professional footballer in 1997 at quite a young age, 31 years old.
2. Denis Law
The Scotland striker played for Manchester United for 11 years, from 1963 to 1974. With 237 goals he scored with the Red Devils, Law became the second leading goal-scorer for this club. In his best day, he was known as a striker who is fast and has very good dribbling skills. In addition to winning two English League titles and a Champions League trophy, Law was also awarded with Ballon d'Or in 1964.
1. Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton is a true legend of Manchester United. This player played for the Red Devils from 1956 to 1973 and went through various times of joy and sorrow with the club. He nearly died in a plane crash in 1958. Throughout his career, Charlton actually even more often positioned as an attacking midfielder rather than a striker. However, in any position he played, Charlton still managed to score a lot of goals. He still holds the record as the Manchester United's all time goalscorer with 249 goals. As a Red Devils player, Charlton won three English League titles, one FA Cup trophy and a Champions League trophy.
