5 greatest Manchester United midfielders in the Premier League Era

Undoubtedly in the last quarter of a century, Manchester United have been one of the most successful teams in the world, even officially becoming the best team in the world in 1999 and 2008. In Sir Alex Ferguson's illustrious period at the club, they won 13 Premier League titles in 20 seasons.

Even though Fergie left the club in 2013, they are still easily the most successful team in the Premier League era, even though they've not won it for nearly 5 years. Of course, there's been little chance of them winning it this season, as they will probably come a distant second to Pep Guardiola's steamrollering Manchester City.

Of course, the main reason United have been so successful in the Premier League is because of Sir Alex and his legendary man-management. Ferguson was always good at building teams to go on a title charge, particularly in midfield where in his early years he opted for a mixture of flair in Ryan Giggs and grit in players such as Paul Ince.

As his time developed at United, Ferguson sought a more refined blend in the centre of the park, necessitated by the reds becoming prominent in Europe again. Sir Alex recognised he would need more cultured players in his midfield to dictate games.

The midfield was complemented by flying wingers (particularly in the Premier League) as Ferguson espoused that attack was always the best form of defence.

United have had a glut of great midfielders to play for them in the Premier League and this article describes the 5 best ever midfielders to play for the club in the PL era.

#5 David Beckham (1992-2003)

Even though Beckham left the club under a cloud in 2003 for Real Madrid after falling out with Sir Alex, there's no doubt that he was an unbelievably talented player with a natural talent for set pieces who during his peak was a pleasure to watch.

Arguably the best years of his football career came at United before he got his head turned by fame and fortune and the limelight away from the pitch. In his early years at United, Beckham was a revelation in replacing the departed Andrei Kanchelskis and helping United to 3 titles in his first 4 seasons at the club including being a key part of the treble-winning side in 1998/99.

Rather like the next incumbent of the number 7 shirt at United (a certain Cristiano Ronaldo) Beckham's dedication to football was impressive and his hard work is what drove him to the top. At United, he developed a reputation for a particular technique in striking the ball from free-kicks, corners and crosses.

Incredibly, he scored 30 direct free kicks for Manchester United and 65 in his whole career. In addition to this, he was also effective as a box-box midfielder, with a decent scoring record (85 goals in 394 appearances) though perhaps Beckham's most famous goal was the one he scored from the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1996.

In fact the first of United's 'golden periods' (they often would become between 2006-2013, mainly thanks to the emergence of Rooney and Ronaldo) was when Beckham was at the club- after Beckham broke into the first team in 1995/96 until his departure, United won 6 titles in 8 seasons. That's no coincidence.

#4 Roy Keane (1993-2005)

Keane's fiery temperament made him a great leader on the pitch

The Irishman's temper was both his greatest strength and weakness. It propelled him to the top as a snarling, tough guy midfielder but also led him into numerous feuds. One too many arguments with Sir Alex sent Keane tumbling out of the club in 2005, after Keane had publicly criticised his United teammates on MUTV (the club's media channel).

However, despite his acrimonious departure, Keane was a very effective player for United, even through to his final days at the club. All in all, he won 17 major trophies for the Reds. In a similar vein to Gary Neville, he made the most of himself in his career.

Like Neville, Keane was not particularly technically gifted but his reading of the game was excellent. He compensated for his lack of flair through his boundless energy and stamina and he simply just wore players down through sheer grit and determination.

Keane also had an eye for goal (51 in 480 appearances), particularly during his peak at the club (1998-2000) and was capable of driving United to victory through sheer force.

Many older United fans will fondly remember his performance against Juventus in the Champions League semi-final in 1998/99. Though he had been booked and would miss the final, Keane still drove United to a 3-2 win (scoring the first goal) with a captain's performance.

That showed what Roy Keane was about- putting his heart and soul on the line for the Manchester United shirt.

#3 Michael Carrick (2006-Present)

Carrick has won every trophy possible at Manchester United

When Michael Carrick first arrived at Manchester United from Spurs in 2006, many observers recognised his talent but doubted his capacity to fill the big Roy Keane shaped hole in the centre of midfield.

12 years on after he announced he would be retiring from the club this summer, many United fans are mourning the impending departure of one of the greatest club servants, having made 463 appearances for the club so far.

That explains Carrick's career at United- underrated. Despite his ability to dictate the pace of games and unlock defences, Carrick has been underappreciated time and time again. At the start of his time at United, he was in the shadow of a certain Paul Scholes and many critics levelled the accusation at Carrick that he needed Scholes alongside him to play well.

Cut to 2012/13 in Carrick's 7th season at the club, where he was the standout player (along with a certain Robin Van Persie), making 46 appearances in all competitions, as United won the title for the 20th time (truly cementing their place as the most successful English club ahead of Liverpool's 18 titles).

This was largely achieved without the presence of Scholes. Though Scholes had come out of retirement for the club in 2012, he was largely a bit-part player in 2012/13.

2012/13 was definitely the breakout season for Carrick in terms of receiving recognition for his performances from critics, but in reality, he'd been a key player for the Reds ever since his arrival in 2006.

He's won 18 trophies in his time at the club, including every possible trophy there is to win (even the Fifa Club World Cup).United fans will truly miss him when he retires this summer.

#2 Ryan Giggs (1990-2014)

Giggs has made the most appearances of any player in United's history

It's hard to believe that Giggs is not number one on this list but that accolade goes to another of the class of 92. Nevertheless, Giggs is most decorated player in United's history, making more appearances than any other player (963) and winning the most silverware (34 major trophies).

Even though his spell as assistant manager of the club (with Louis Van Gaal) didn't quite work out, the 'Welsh wizard' has been instrumental in helping United to the most successful period in the club's history.

Giggs started off as a paper-thin winger who would terrorise defenders with his pace and dribbling. United fans all remember Giggsy's goal against Arsenal in the semi-final in the FA Cup in 1998/99.

Giggs picked up an errant pass from Patrick Viera and proceeded to dribble past half the Arsenal team before drilling into the top corner. The fact is though that Giggs used to score that type of goal on a regular basis.

Towards the end of his career, he became a central midfielder with United, and in tandem with Michael Carrick revived the club's fortunes after they were briefly usurped by Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

Despite all his success, Giggs' best attribute was arguably his endurance- playing for the club for nearly a quarter of a century well into his 40s. He scored in the Premier League for 21 consecutive seasons and holds the record for the most Premier League assists (162).

Statistics alone show that Giggs was a legend, but United fans already knew that.

#1 Paul Scholes (1992-2011, 2012-13)

Scholes is seen by many as the most gifted English midfielder of his generation

Though Scholes is now known for his brilliant (in my opinion) punditry on BT Sport, in his playing days, he was largely heralded as one of the best ever English midfielders. Nevertheless, like Giggs before him, Scholes was better in a United shirt than his country.

Scholes had it all: mesmeric passing abilities, a thunderous shot and great technical ability, which is a rare skill for English midfielders. Just like his United colleague Rio Ferdinand, Scholes was a rare commodity in English football- the finished article.

Arguably the older Scholes got, the better player he became. At the start of his career, he played mainly as a second striker to support Eric Cantona though he dropped back into central midfield, alongside Roy Keane.

However one of Scholes' best ever seasons in a United shirt came in 2002/2003, where he played as a second striker with Ruud Van Nistlerooy as United won the Premier League at a canter. It was his most prolific season in front of goal (scoring 20 goals in all competitions).

10 years on from that, Scholes came out of retirement to play for United again halfway through the 2011/12 season and he pulled the strings again (though in a lesser capacity) to inspire United to further success, winning 11 Premier League titles with United. Even in his final season, Scholes still had an amazing 92% pass accuracy.

In-between that period was the best time of Scholes' career where he orchestrated proceedings from midfield and could control a whole game on his own.

His scoring rate declined but he still chipped in with some spectacular strikes- such as an amazing volley against Aston Villa in 2006 and delivering the knockout blow to Barcelona in 2008.

Scholes boasts an impressive record of 155 goals in 718 appearances for the Reds, despite playing in midfield for the majority of those games.

He may have been an unassuming character, but he remains one of the best (if the not the best) ever midfielders to play for Manchester United.