List of Manchester United F.C. players

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club was formed in Newton Heath in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C., and played their first competitive match in October 1886, when they entered the First Round of the 1886–87 FA Cup.^[2] The club was renamed Manchester United F.C. in 1902, and they moved to Old Trafford in 1910.^[3] The club won its first significant trophy in 1908 – the First Division title. Since then, the club has won a further 19 league titles, along with 12 FA Cups and five League Cups, among many other honours. They have also been crowned champions of Europe on three occasions by winning the European Cup.^[3][4] The club was one of 22 teams in the Premier League when it was formed in 1992. They experienced the most successful period in their history under the management of Alex Ferguson, who guided the team to 13 league titles in 21 years.^[5][6]

Since playing their first competitive match, 970 players have made a competitive first-team appearance for the club, of whom 223 players have made at least 100 appearances (including substitute appearances). Manchester United's record appearance-maker is Ryan Giggs, who made a total of 963 appearances over a 23-year playing career; he broke Bobby Charlton's previous appearance record in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final.^[7] Giggs also holds the record for the most starts (802 matches), and for the most matches played as a substitute (161).

Charlton was also the club's top goalscorer with 249 goals in his 17 years with the club. He held the mark for 45 years, until his record was overtaken by Wayne Rooney, who scored his 250th goal during the 2016–17 season; Rooney finished his 13-year tenure with Manchester United with 253 goals in 559 appearances. Other than Charlton, Giggs and Rooney, only eight players have made more than 500 appearances for the club, including three members of the 1968 European Cup–winning team (Tony Dunne, Alex Stepney and Bill Foulkes as well as Charlton) and three members of the 1999 Treble-winning team (Denis Irwin, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes as well as Giggs); the two other players to reach 500 appearances are Joe Spence, who played for the club during the interwar period, and David de Gea, who played for the club from 2011 to 2023. De Gea, who is Spanish, is the first 500 Club member from outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Other than Charlton and Rooney, only two players (Denis Law and Jack Rowley) have scored more than 200 goals for the club.

The most recent player to reach 100 appearances for the club is Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot, who reached the milestone on 16 April 2023.

• Billy Meredith made 335 appearances for Manchester United and is considered one of football's first superstars.

• Jack Rowley made 424 appearances for Manchester United and was the first of only four players to score 200 goals for the club.

• Tommy Taylor scored 131 goals in just 161 appearances for Manchester United. He was one of eight players to be killed in the Munich air disaster.

• Bobby Charlton is United's second-highest goalscorer and has the second-most appearances for the club. He captained the club from 1968 to 1973.

• George Best made 470 appearances for United, and is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.^[8]

• Paul Scholes made the third-highest number of appearances for Manchester United, with 718.

• Peter Schmeichel made 398 appearances for Manchester United.

• Eric Cantona made 185 appearances and scored 87 goals for Manchester United. He was the club's first captain from outside the British Isles.

• David Beckham made 394 appearances and scored 85 goals with Manchester United.

• Ole Gunnar Solskjær made 366 appearances with United and managed the club from 2018 to 2021.

• Rio Ferdinand made 455 appearances in 12 seasons with Manchester United.^[9]

• Cristiano Ronaldo made 346 appearances in two spells at Manchester United, winning the Ballon d'Or in 2008, as well as becoming the only United player to date to win the European Golden Shoe.

• Wayne Rooney is the club's all-time top scorer with 253 goals. He captained the club from 2014 to 2017.

• Nemanja Vidić made 300 appearances for Manchester United and served as captain from 2011 to 2014.

• Patrice Evra made 379 appearances for United.

• David de Gea made 545 appearances for Manchester United, the seventh-most of all time.

• Paul Pogba made 233 appearances in two separate spells at Manchester United. His 2016 transfer from Juventus made him the world's most expensive footballer at the time.

• Robin van Persie made 105 appearances for Manchester United.

• Juan Mata made 285 appearances for Manchester United.

• Marcus Rashford has made over 400 appearances for Manchester United.

• Bruno Fernandes, current club captain, has made over 240 appearances for United.

• Appearances and goals are for first-team competitive matches only, including Premier League, Football League, FA Cup, League Cup, Charity/Community Shield, European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners' Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup matches; wartime matches are regarded as unofficial and are excluded, as are matches from the abandoned 1939–40 season.
• Players are listed according to the date of their first-team debut for the club.

Statistics correct as of match played 6 October 2024

Table headers

• Nationality – If a player played international football, the country/countries he played for are shown. Otherwise, the player's nationality is given as their country of birth.
• Manchester United career – The year of the player's first appearance for Manchester United to the year of his last appearance.
• Starts – The number of matches started.
• Sub – The number of matches played as a substitute.
• Total – The total number of matches played, both as a starter and as a substitute.

General

• Ponting, Ivan (2008). Manchester United Player by Player (8th ed.). Studley: Know the Score Books. ISBN 978-1-84818-300-1. ASIN 1848183003.
• "MUFCINFO.COM - History & Stats of Manchester United FC". www.mufcinfo.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

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