Looking back at the best forwards to play for Manchester United over the past 25 years.
To celebrate 25 years of the 2000s, United In Focus are asking readers to help build the best XI of players to represent the club since the turn of the millennium.
After voting in polls for best goalkeeper, left-back, right-back, centre-backs, and midfielders, now we are onto the forwards.
We are setting up the team in a 4-3-3 formation, and this means we are asking readers to vote for their ‘top forward’ – the three players with the highest votes will make it into the team.
Have your say in the poll below, while in this article we run through the top contenders, as well as a handful who don’t quite make the voting.
We expect this one to be tight – so every vote counts!
Who is the BEST Man Utd forward 2000-2025? Cast your vote 🗳️
The TOP THREE make it into our XI
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke began the new century in impressive form, scoring more Premier League goals in the 1999/2000 season (20) than he did in the Treble year (18).
Yorke won the Premier League Player of the Season award that year. His highlight in 2000/01 was a memorable hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Arsenal. He left United to sign with Blackburn in 2002.
Andy Cole
Yorke’s strike partner Andy Cole was at the tail end of his Manchester United career, but still warrants a mention due to his service for the club.
Cole scored 121 goals for Manchester United, although 96 of these came in the 1990s.
Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham was never prolific at Manchester United, until his final season at the club in 2000/01.
Sheringham struck 21 goals that season, having scored 25 across the previous three seasons combined. He was named Manchester United’s Player of the Year in 2000/01 and voted into the Premier League Team of the Season.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Manchester United waited an extra year to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy after he suffered a torn ACL, and it was worth the wait.
Van Nistelrooy bagged a brace on his United debut and never looked back, scoring 36 goals in his first season at the club in 2000/01.
The following season he was even better, netting 44 goals to fire United to the Premier League title. During his season at the club, Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer enjoyed his best ever season at the club in 2001/02, scoring 25 goals.
Injuries hurt Solskjaer’s career, before he reinvented himself by playing on the right wing. He netted 11 times during his final season, with United winning the title in 2006/07. A true servant to United.
Louis Saha
Louis Saha was a mid-season signing in 2003/04 and ended up playing a valuable supporting role behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, more than Diego Forlan was able to.
Saha scored 13 goals in all competitions during United’s title-winning season in 2006/07.
Ryan Giggs
Yes, this list includes wingers too. Ryan Giggs has to be a part of it as Manchester United’s record appearance-maker, who contributed right to the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, and beyond.
In every title-winning season in the 2000s, Giggs played a minimum of 25 Premier League games, and 43 matches in all competitions in 2007/08.
Giggs is the Premier League’s all-time assist leader with 162, a tally that will likely never be beaten.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Signed as David Beckham’s replacement, Cristiano Ronaldo went on to become a true superstar in his own right.
Ronaldo took a couple of seasons to truly get going, and when he did, there was no looking back. His 42-goal campaign in 2007/08 was legendary, and propelled him to win the Ballon d’Or.
United begrudgingly sold Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2009 for a club record £80 million, and saw him become even more devastating in Spain.
Eventually United re-signed Ronaldo in 2021/22, and while that season was a collective disappointment, the superstar still ended up as top scorer, while in his mid-to-late 30s.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney signed for the club in 2004 and scored a famous hat-trick on his debut. He went on to enjoy a long and glorious career at the club.
Rooney ended his career as Manchester United’s record goalscorer, breaking the long-standing record set by Sir Bobby Charlton.
Along with the 2008 Champions League, Rooney won five Premier League titles, the FA Cup, Europa League, and two League Cups.
Rooney’s versatility in attack saw him do it all. He could play as centre-forward, as a support striker, and on the wing.
Carlos Tevez
The third part of Manchester United’s 2008 attacking trident, Carlos Tevez was named by Wayne Rooney as his favourite ever teammate.
United really should have kept Tevez in 2008, and when an offer was not forthcoming he decided to ruin his reputation by joining City instead.
During his time at United, Tevez gave it his all during his two seasons at the club, scoring 34 goals. As a trio along with Ronaldo and Rooney, they were a perfect combination.
Nani
Signed as a potential Cristiano Ronaldo successor, Nani showed flashes of potential greatness, even though he did not quite capitalise on it.
Nani’s best seasons at the club came in 2010/11 and 2011/12, where he scored 20 goals combined, and his strikes were often as spectacular as his celebration.
Dimitar Berbatov
Sir Alex Ferguson signed Dimitar Berbatov at a time when Manchester United already had the perfect strikeforce, but he knew Ronaldo and Tevez would potentially depart a year later.
Berbatov was a joy to watch, thanks to his skill and creative ability as much as his goalscoring. His highlights included a five-goal haul against Blackburn, and a hat-trick against Liverpool.
The Bulgarian scored 56 goals for United and won two league titles, leaving the club in 2012.
Javier Hernandez
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez is one of Manchester United’s best ever bargains, signed for around £6 million.
Hernandez drew comparisons to Solskjaer for his goalscoring instincts, and made an immediate impact at the club, firing United to the title in 2010/11.
Chicharito scored 50 goals in three seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson, but after the Scot retired he netted only nine times and left the club soon after.
Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie had a short and sweet spell at Manchester United, and it was an explosive one. Van Persie left pretenders Arsenal to join the real deal at Old Trafford, and it was the best decision of his career.
The Dutchman won the league and golden boot in his first season at the club in 2012/13, with 26 league goals and 30 in all competitions.
Van Persie actually netted 26 goals in 2013/14, but with David Moyes’ side terrible, his personal record that season was quickly forgotten.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Manchester United an incredible lift when he joined the club in 2016, and he hoped to spark an Eric Cantona-like resurgence. He certainly had the attitude, quotability and goalscoring to match.
Ibrahimovic’s United won two trophies during his debut season, where he scored 29 goals. But his campaign ended cruelly, with a torn ACL.
United let Ibrahimovic leave the following season after he returned, and it was a mistake. He went on to score 53 goals in 58 games for LA Galaxy.
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford stunned the football world when he broke through at Manchester United in 2016, scoring four goals in his first two games.
Rashford has gone on to score 138 goals for United, including a stunning 30-goal haul during the 2022/23 season.
Unlike many of the Ferguson-era stars, Rashford had the handicap at United of having to play under multiple different managers.
What do you think is Marcus Rashford’s legacy at Man Utd?
Anthony Martial
There were incredibly high hopes for Anthony Martial when he joined the club in 2015, made even higher after his debut goal against Liverpool.
Martial had two truly outstanding seasons for United, his debut campaign that featured a FA Cup semi-final winner over Everton, and his 23-goal season in 2019/20. Martial was the first United player since Robin van Persie to score a hat-trick.
Similar to Rashford, Martial struggled for consistency and also battled injuries. He left in 2024, with 90 club goals to his name.
What was your favourite Edinson Cavani goal for Man United?
Edinson Cavani scored 19 goals in total for Manchester United
Edinson Cavani
Similar to Zlatan, Edinson Cavani signed for Manchester United too late, when his best career years were behind him.
Despite this, Cavani showed flashes of the player he was at his peak, including a memorable comeback brace in a win at Southampton.
Cavani also helped United demolish Roma home and away in the Europa League semi-final, and scored in the final against Villarreal.
Before giving up the number seven shirt to Cristiano Ronaldo, Cavani became the first player to truly wear the shirt with distinction since Ronaldo’s exit in 2009.
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