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Manchester United, one of the biggest football clubs in Europe, have had a stellar record, particularly in the domestic scene. They have won the Premier League a record twenty times, the FA Cup twelve times, the League Cup five times, the UEFA Champions League three times, and the UEFA Europa League once.
The Old Trafford club is the most successful in English football, winning more trophies than any other club in history. However, their performances in recent times have significantly dipped. The club's last Premier League title win came eight years ago in 2012/13 while their most recent major trophy was the Europa League won in May 2017.
In the days of yore, Manchester United were renowned for their attacking prowess that was propelled by world-class strikers in their ranks. On that note, we bring to you five of the best strikers to have played for the Red Devils during the period 1990-2020.
1) Wayne Rooney
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Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, with 253 goals in all competitions.
Rooney arrived at Old Trafford from boyhood club Everton in 2004 for £ 25 million. The diminutive striker won 16 trophies during his 13 seasons with the club. These included 5 Premier League titles (2007-09, 2011, 2013), 1 UEFA Champions League title (2008), 1 UEFA Europa League title (2017), and 1 FIFA Club World Cup title (2009), besides winning eight other domestic trophies.
The Liverpool-born player was a part of a golden generation of Manchester United and was one of the star pupils of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Rooney was rated to be one of the best players in the world during his prime. With 53 goals, the striker is England's all-time leading goal-scorer.
2) Ruud van Nistelrooy
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Ruud van Nistelrooy is one of the most prolific strikers in Manchester United history.
In his 219 appearances in all competitions for the club, the Dutchman found the back of the net on exactly 150 occasions. Apart from his goals, Van Nistelrooy also has 22 assists to his name.
The Dutch centre-forward arrived at Old Trafford in 2001/02. During his six seasons for the English club, Van Nistelrooy exhibited his lethal prowess in front of goal on numerous occasions. This is particularly evident in his record of scoring at least 20 Premier League goals in all but one of his seasons for Manchester United.
The 2004/05 season was the only aberration in this regard when he scored just six goals in 17 appearances in an injury-ravaged season. However, Van Nistelrooy scored a career-best eight goals in the Champions League that season.
3) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
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Current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a prolific striker during his time.
Solkjaer is perhaps best remembered for his dramatic injury-time winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final in Barcelona. The Norwegian striker was quite prolific that season when Manchester United won the treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League titles.
During an 11-year stint at the club, Solkjaer scored 126 goals in 366 appearances in all competitions. Nicknamed the 'Baby-faced Assasin', the diminutive striker often came off the bench to score late goals for the side.
Along with his goals, Solkjaer also provided 50 assists.
4) Eric Cantona
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Eric 'The King' Cantona, who is a famous movie star in the French film industry these days, was a striker par excellence during his stint at Manchester United.
Scoring 81 goals in 179 appearances for the Old Trafford club, Cantona is still rated very highly by the Manchester United faithful. Arriving at the club in 1992, Cantona remained at Old Trafford till his retirement five years later.
Cantona, who was made captain of the club in 1996, also has 61 assists to his name.
However, his disciplinary record was not exemplary, as is evident in his tally of 4 red and 21 yellow cards. The Frenchman became infamous for receiving a ban from football for physically assaulting a fan who was said to have provoked him. But the club faithful prefer to remember him for the joy and success his goals brought to the club.
5) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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The much-travelled Zlatan Ibrahimovic became one of manager Jose Mourinho's prized acquisitions after arriving at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016.
Ibrahimovich scored 29 goals in 53 appearances for the club in all competitions. The Swedish striker stayed at Manchester United for just over a season and a half, before leaving to US club Los Angeles Galaxy following an injury-ravaged season.
However, Ibrahimovic's presence in the Manchester United dressing room was crucial. The tall striker had a vital role in ensuring United finished second in the 2017/18 season, which Mourinho ominously declared as being his most significant achievement at the club.
During his short stint at Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic also had ten assists to his credit.
