Neville and Scholes both made same glaring omission from best Man Utd XI

14 October 2023 , 13:18

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Neville and Scholes both made same glaring omission from best Man Utd XI

Eric Cantona is seen by many as the catalyst that inspired Manchester United's success in the 1990s - but both Gary Neville and Paul Scholes left him out of their best XIs.

The two academy graduates came into the first-team picture when Cantona was the club's talisman, helping Sir Alex Ferguson's side win four Premier League titles in five years. Neville and Scholes went on to play with a number of other classy marksman, whom they both prefer to the Frenchman.

Neville opted for Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in his frontline whilst Scholes went for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Teddy Sheringham. Testament to the quality of the quartet, all four men picked up the PFA Player of the Year award at one time or another - an accolade that Cantona also landed back in 1994.

Sheringham was signed as the Frenchman's replacement and he and Van Nistelrooy were crucial to the team's success in the early 2000s with the Dutchman setting records for goals scored by a Premier League star in his debut season.

Rooney and Ronaldo first teamed up in 2004 and went on to form a forward line including Carlos Tevez that is widely regarded as the finest of the Ferguson era. They both won the Champions League with Rooney leaving the club as its all-time record goalscorer.

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Neville and Scholes largely agreed on their midfield, each picking fellow academy graduates David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. They also opted for Roy Keane, who skippered the club to much success during his lengthy period at the club. Neville chose Scholes to complete his midfield with the Scholes going for Bryan Robson.

Eric Cantona enjoys legendary status at Man Utd (ExpressStar)

Rio Ferdinand, Dennis Irwin and Peter Schmeichel feature in both men's defensive units with the trio all enjoying trophy-laden spells at Old Trafford. Neville opted to go for Nemanja Vidic as his other centre-half while Scholes, perhaps surprisingly, went for Wes Brown. Scholes included Neville in his back four, who himself went for Patrice Evra, a European Cup winner in 2008.

Keane, like his former United team-mates, also gave an XI of the best players he played with during his time in Manchester. He omitted both Neville and Scholes but did include Cantona in his frontline alongside Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy.

Neville's XI: Schmeichel, Irwin, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney

Scholes's XI: Schmeichel, Irwin, Ferdinand, Brown, Neville, Beckham, Keane, Robson, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Sheringham

Samuel Meade