Sir Bobby Charlton played in one of the greatest Manchester United teams of all time. He then worked as a director during Sir Alex Ferguson’s relentless success.
There is nobody better qualified to select an all-time best Manchester United XI than him. And when tasking himself to do so, Charlton modestly did not include himself.
Sir Bobby Charlton, who passed away at the weekend at the age of 86, was a key part of Sir Matt Busby’s European Cup winning team in 1968.
He fought back from the mental and physical anguish of the Munich air disaster in 1958, which claimed the lives of several of his teammates.
Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time Manchester United XI
Sir Bobby Charlton picked his best ever Manchester United XI in his autobiography, Sir Bobby Charlton: My Manchester United Years.
He did so combining a team of all eras from the 1950s onwards, noting that he had to make some agonising decisions.
Charlton did not select himself in midfield, and nor did he even select his ‘favourite’ player of the modern era, Paul Scholes.
Here is the very impressive team Charlton settled on…
- Peter Schmeichel
- Denis Irwin
- Gary Pallister
- Nobby Stiles
- Gary Neville
- Duncan Edwards
- Bryan Robson
- Roy Keane
- Eric Cantona
- George Best
- Denis Law
Unbeatable midfield
Sir Bobby Charlton’s had a never ending admiration for his former teammate Duncan Edwards, whose life was cut short in Munich while his career was just getting started.
Charlton believed this midfield along with Roy Keane and Bryan Robson would create a completely unbeatable team, and you can begin to see how he even left himself out.
He wrote of Keane and Robson: “Between them, they would squeeze the life out of the opposition.”
Manchester United have had so many top quality, legendary players through the years, including Charlton, that selecting an all time team really is an impossible task. But he is more than qualified to take his pick, and his selections are a fascinating insight into how highly he regarded the players he selected.