The 10 Greatest Foreign Exports Ever to Play for Manchester United

With this summer being a bumper transfer window for Manchester United, a lot of players from foreign shores have joined the already vast array of international talent at Old Trafford.

Dutch duo Robin van Persie and Alexander Buttner, as well as Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa have all joined the team over the past couple of months and have the potential to become future United greats.

Despite supplying England's team, and other home nations' teams with some of their greatest players over the past 20 years, United have always been a club that are not afraid to employ talents from overseas to do the job required.

Of course, these transfers have not always been a success. Massimo Taibi, Laurent Blanc and Diego Forlan are just a few players who—despite showing real promise and talent elsewhere—have failed to produce the same sort of form in the United red.

This article lists those players that have had the greatest impact for the better with the most successful club in English football. 

The players listed did not necessarily transfer from foreign leagues, but simply do not hold a British Passport (or at least they didn't at their time of playing).

I have also left Roy Keane and Dennis Irwin (who technically, being from the Republic of Ireland, are considered "foreign") off the list. I'm sure most of you would agree that this isn't really a comparable type of "foreignness" as it is to the rest of the players selected.

10: Patrice Evra

Yes, despite his dire performance against Everton on Monday night, it is important to remember exactly how good a contributor Patrice Evra has been to the club since his arrival from Monaco in January 2006.

Since that time, Patrice has made 207 appearances and counting for the side in the league alone, and was a crucial part of the United back line that went 1,311 minutes without  conceding a goal.

Last season Evra came under some heavy criticism, with a lot of fans suggesting that perhaps he is no longer able to cut the mustard at United.

The recent addition of Alexander Buttner to the squad should come as a real warning sign to the Frenchman that his place in the starting XI may well be at risk sooner than he might have expected.

Now aged 31, Patrice is in the twilight of his footballing prime. One would have to expect that he has one, or possibly a maximum of two, years left at Old Trafford before he is unable to compete for a regular first team spot.

When Evra does go however, United fans should remember exactly how important his contributions have been in the last half a decade, and not remember him for his poor finish to his Red Devil career.

9: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

This man is probably one of the most popular players in Manchester United history.

I defy anyone who says they can find a United fan who doesn't have a lot of respect for the Norwegian striker, both on and off the pitch. 

Coining the phrase "Super Sub", Solskjaer was not often in the starting line up, but on several occasions he would come on to change the pace of a game and score some critical goals.

Solskjaer scored what was one of United's most important goals under Sir Alex Ferguson, when he netted the winner in the 1999 Champions League final.

After being forced into retirement with a recurring injury problem, Solskjaer didn't want to leave United without giving back to the club that gave him so much.

As such, he became the manager of the United reserves—a role that he held very successfully from 2007-2011—before pursuing a career in charge of his first ever team, Molde.

Sir Alex has said before that he considers Ole one of the forerunners to take the United job on when he eventually does retire.

If Solskjaer does return, and has anywhere near the success that Fergie has had, he will surely become the most loved player, or man, in the history of the club.

8: Jaap Stam

Jaap Stam is a player who is sometimes forgotten about when it comes to United greats.

The Dutch centre-back, who joined the club from PSV Eindhoven, spent just three years at the club: but what a three years.

During this time Stam became part of the treble winning side, as well as winning numerous other trophies across his tenure.

Fergie admits that when he did eventually let Stam go for £16.5 million (an offer which at the time was near ground-breaking for a defender) to Lazio, he may well have made a mistake.

It took a while to really fill the boots that the powerful Dutchman left behind, but a player who appears shortly in this list was eventually able to fill the void in 2006.

As for Stam, he will always be considered one of the United greats.

7: Dwight Yorke

It's easy to forget sometimes that Dwight Yorke is a foreign player.

Having spoken English as his first language, and also having spent the majority of his career playing in England for Aston Villa and United, Dwight was in fact a native of Trinidad and Tobago.

Yorke's partnership with fellow United striker Andy Cole has become legendary over the years.

The pairings' goals were crucial in securing the treble during Yorke's first season with the club in 1999.

Despite having only two real "good" years with United, Dwight made his time with the Red Devils one of the most successful periods in the club's history. As such, he well and truly deserves his place on this list.

6: Nemanja Vidic

It says a lot about the quality of some of United's foreign players that a man like Nemanja Vidic only makes it to No. 6 on the list.

The current United captain has been arguably the best defender that the club has seen in its long and illustrious history, leading his side to countless trophies and titles.

Like Evra, Vidic was part of the United defence that managed to keep opposing attacks at bay for a record-breaking amount of time.

And yet, when the Serbian was signed from Spartak Moscow in the same winter transfer window as his French teammate, very few—if at all any—United fans really cared.

Certainly they were happy that a player had been brought in to fill the defensive void that had been so heavily lacking since the turn of the century, but in regards to Nemanja himself, hardly anybody knew anything about the man.

It wasn't long before all that changed, and Vidic battled his way into the hearts of of believers and doubters alike.

Now considered one of the greatest defenders not just in United, but also in Premier League history, Vidic will be looking to lead his side to the title once again (having missed the majority of last season with a severely twisted knee).

Can he and his colleagues do it? Only time will tell.

5: Edwin van der Sar

It seemed that, for a long period of time, Manchester United would never find a keeper to replace  great Dane Peter Schemichel. But in Edwin van der Sar they found that man.

Frustratingly, for the entirety of their search up until the moment when they signed him, he had been under their nose the entire time playing for fellow Premier League side, Fulham.

It seems crazy to consider that Edwin ever played for a side as mediocre (at the time) as the Cottagers, and even crazier to think how many years he spent there without a bigger side snapping him up.

Still, all worked out well in the end, with both club and player forming a solid partnership that saw United through a very prosperous spell.

Again, Van der Sar was part of the team that holds the record for the longest spell in English football without conceding. In fact, the record technically only belongs to Manchester United (the collective team) and Edwin himself, as he was the only player to feature in all of the matches.

The second of three Dutchmen in our list retired at the end of the 2010-11 season, ending his United career in style with his fourth Premier League title.

4: Peter Schmeichel

The top goalkeeper in the list comes from the land of Denmark.

Schmeichel was the United captain in the side which would go on to take the treble back to Old Trafford.

As many United fans will know, Peter started his career in football as a striker. As time went on he developed into the keeper we all know and love today, but he never really lost his scoring edge.

In fact in the 1995-1996 UEFA Cup season, Schmeichel scored for United against Russian side Rotor Volograd.

One of the most iconic images of United's recent history came in the form of Schmeichel in his luminous green strip, somersaulting after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's winner in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

Despite committing the "ultimate sin" and joining Manchester City in 2002 (something that Gary Neville clearly wasn't too happy about), Peter will always be remembered as a true United hero and legend.

3: Ruud Van Nistelrooy

The second Dutchman in the list to join is from PSV.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was always one of my favourite players while I was growing up, watching him net both simple tap-ins and cracking screamers alike.

Ruud fell just five goals short of netting a tonne of league goals for United (although he did achieve this in all competitions, including a staggering 38 in just 47 games in Europe).

Van Nistelrooy scored one of United's greatest-ever goals when he rounded the entire Fulham defence to score a goal which he ran in from the halfway line.

Many United fans will be hoping that the recent acquisition of Robin van Persie (who, like Ruud, is a Dutch striker) will repeat the same kind of success that his countryman experienced in Manchester.

Ruud showed his quality even into footballing old age, playing a pivotal role in Malaga's qualification for this years UEFA Chmapions League knockout stages.

Unfortunately for the Spanish side, Van Nistelrooy retired at the end of last season.

2: Eric Cantona

There are probably a lot of United fans who think Eric should be at the top of this list.

Cantona has been remembered somewhat infamously in Premier League history, as a result of a mixture of his brilliant performances on the pitch, and his ridiculous antics off the pitch.

However, whatever your stance is on him, Cantona will always be considered one of the greatest players in the history of world football.

His time at United lasted just five seasons, but in that time he managed to carve his name into Old Trafford folklore.

Eric had a style of play that nobody could, or has since, matched.

There really will only ever be one Eric Cantona.

1: Cristiano Ronaldo

Whatever your view on Cristiano Ronaldo's temperament, one thing is for certain: He is one of the greatest players the world has ever seen.

It's a shame for Ronnie that he played in the same generation (and now league) as one of the world's other greatest ever players: Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo's form for United rocketed him to the top of the world when it came to quality and ability.

Many would argue that the titles United gained during this period of almost unworldly play from the Portuguese superstar were directly as the result of his play.

Ronnie now plies his trade for Real Madrid, and somehow makes his time spent with the Red Devils poor in comparison!

Currently averaging more than a goal a game in the league (112 goals in just 102 games), Cristiano Ronaldo is making sure Messi doesn't take all the headlines.

Even if it is for the wrong reasons.

Honorable Mentions

And now, the foreign players who have been solid but not quite "class" enough to make this list:

Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria)

Javier Hernadez (Mexico)

Andrei Kanchelskis (Russia)

Antonio Valencia (Ecuador)

Ji-Sung Park (South Korea)

Ronny Johnsen (Norway)

Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic)

Luis Nani (Portugal)

Mikael Silvestre (France)