Man Utd's greatest-ever Premier League XI according to AI with Rooney snubbed
Manchester United have won the Premier League more times than any other club, so it's inevitable that some big names will miss out on their greatest XI from the last 30-odd years.
Between 1992-93 and 2012-13, United won an unmatched 13 league titles - all under Alex Ferguson's stewardship. Naturally, that means some title winners - and even some Treble winners from the memorable 1998-99 campaign - won't make the cut.
Mirror Football has asked ChatGPT, a language processing tool aided by artificial intelligence technology, to come up with United's greatest XI of the Premier League era. There's no place for treble-winning strike pairing Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, but the even bigger omission is Wayne Rooney.
England striker Rooney is United's all-time top scorer with 253 goals, 183 of those in the Premier League. There's no place for him in this team, though, which has a Fergie-friendly 4-4-2 shape and is a who's who of big names.
Peter Schmeichel
The first player on the list is a giant of United's 90s team. Schmeichel was between the sticks for United's first league title, before bowing out at the top when he left the club following the 1999 Champions League final success.
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Gary Neville
Former club captain Neville was Mr Consistency during more than a decade at the club. The right-back played more than 600 times for United, and was one of the few to win the Champions League in both 1999 and 2008.
Rio Ferdinand
Who else should have made the all-time Man Utd XI? Have your say in the comments section
The centre-back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic remains intact here (Getty Images)A £30m signing from Leeds, Ferdinand was an example of a big-money signing clearly paying dividends. The England international spent more than a decade with United, forming part of the club's most storied centre-back pairings.
Nemanja Vidic
The second member of that pairing is also Ferdinand's defensive partner here. Serbian international Vidic had a tough start to life at Old Trafford but quickly developed into one of the Premier League's most fearsome players.
Denis Irwin
Former team-mate Gary Neville considers Irwin the best full-back in Premier League history. ChatGPT also rates Irwin, giving the Irishman the nod here ahead of fan favourite Patrice Evra.
David Beckham
David Beckham is one of the Class of 92 stars to make the cut (Getty Images)Part of the famed 'Class of 92', Beckham was among the academy stars to help United win it all in 1999. The England international also captained his country, while United experienced what was by their standards a barren run after he left for Real Madrid in 2003.
Paul Scholes
Scholes made his United debut at the age of 19 and racked up more than 700 appearances for the club. After retiring in 2011 with two Champions League wins under his belt, he returned to help Ferguson's team win their most recent league title in 2013.
Roy Keane
Keane missed the 1999 Champions League final through suspension but was a key part of United's early Premier League teams. The combative midfielder led by example while captaining the side to league glory, but left after an infamous MUTV interview.
Ryan Giggs
Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs make the XI but Wayne Rooney does not (The Daily Mirror)The evergreen Giggs burst onto the scene as a pacy winger but later remodelled himself as a central midfielder in late-era Ferguson squads. He is one of only four players in Premier League history to make more than 600 appearances in the competition, and was involved in all of United's title-winning seasons.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo joined United as a tricky winger but left as one of the most in-demand forwards in world football. His 31 goals in the 2007-08 campaign is the most any United player has managed in a 38-game season, and he was part of the team that ended that season as Champions League winner.
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Eric Cantona
The man who helped United's first period of dominance happen, Cantona made a huge impact after joining from Leeds in 1992. Four of his five United seasons saw them win the league, and he quit football at the age of 31, already a Premier League great.
This concludes ChatGPT's all-time Man Utd Premier League XI. There are plenty of high-profile absentees, but none bigger than club legend Rooney.
Before you let us know who you think should have made the cut, please bear in mind ChatGPT's own disclaimer: "This lineup represents a mix of players from different eras in Manchester United's history. There have been many other great players who have donned the Manchester United shirt, and opinions on the greatest XI may vary among fans."
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