Homegrown talents have been at the core of United’s most successful sides. Around them, the world’s best young prospects – Tommy Taylor in 1953, Denis Law in 1962, Roy Keane in 1993, Rio Ferdinand in 2002, Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Jadon Sancho in 2021 – have been brought in from elsewhere, and a selection of experienced winners too, such as Bryan Robson in 1981, Steve Bruce in 1987, Dwight Yorke in 1998, Robin van Persie in 2012 and Bruno Fernandes in 2020.
When Ronaldo joined United in 2003, he was one of the world’s best young prospects.