Manchester United's Current XI vs. Active Past Players XI
The sheer volume of player turnover at Manchester United in the past few years means there are a lot of very good players plying their trade elsewhere who spent some time at Old Trafford.
From Ballon d'Or-hoovering superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo to impressive mid-table Premier League centre-backs like Jonny Evans, this XI covers 10 nationalities playing in five different leagues—and that's before we hit the bench.
Let's take a look to see whether they would beat the current United XI, going position by position.
The home team are lining up in a 4-2-3-1, and the Ex-Reds have gone 4-3-3.
Ex-Reds 'keeper
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Fighting off competition from Ben Foster and former Barcelona star Victor Valdes is an English goalkeeper who has emerged from this campaign with his reputation enhanced.
Tom Heaton of Burnley can consider himself a little unlucky to have lost out to David De Gea in the PFA Team of the Year based on performances this season alone.
He has helped the Clarets to six clean sheets at home in 2016/17 and, of course, kept goal during that remarkable 0-0 draw at Old Trafford back in October.
Heaton is in this team on form rather than overall career. Valdes was the perfect goalkeeper for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, but as Joe Hart found out at Manchester City earlier this season, Guardiola is a manager with specific goalkeeping needs. For this more generalist lineup, Heaton gets the nod.
Current United 'keeper
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Unless this clash somehow takes place in the Europa League, there is only one choice here. De Gea has not had his best season in a United shirt, but that is mostly because he has not needed to. He is still an automatic first choice, as he will be for a future Ex-Reds XI should he ever leave Old Trafford.
Edge in goal: Current United XI
Ex-Reds Defence
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There are some pretty good options here, with no place available for Michael Keane, Fabio Da Silva or Danny Simpson.
The four who make the final cut are Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans, Gerard Pique and Rafael Da Silva.
Pique's position is essentially inarguable. Since leaving Old Trafford, he has become one of the game's finest centre-backs. Evans is in a similarly strong position for selection, having become a stalwart of Tony Pulis' stingy West Bromwich Albion defence.
The full-backs may be a little more open to debate. Evra's age counts against him, but he can still do a job. Rafael is thriving in Ligue 1, where he is first-choice for Olympique Lyonnais, and his enthusiasm and attacking potential make him well worth his place ahead of Simpson.
Current United Defence
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Antonio Valencia is the only certain pick here, though there is some pretty clear evidence about who the best of the rest are, at least when they are on form.
The Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo's partnership has been interrupted by a serious injury to the Argentinian, but they have put in some decent performances together and should probably be considered first-choice centre-backs.
The vexed question of left-back remains that way, but Luke Shaw's performance against Anderlecht hinted that the Englishman is finally approaching something like his best again. If he is on form, there is no debate he should be in the team.
Edge in defence: No edge here. A mixture of strengths and weaknesses in both defences mean this goes down as a tie.
Ex-Reds Midfield
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Like Simpson, Leicester City heroics last season are not enough to earn Danny Drinkwater a place in this XI, though he does make the bench.
In the starting midfield three are Morgan Schneiderlin, who has been revived in a more box-to-box role at Everton, Bastian Schweinsteiger, whose calm, orderly displays hinted that manager Jose Mourinho should have given him more serious consideration, and Darren Fletcher because he is Darren Fletcher.
Schweinsteiger would take the role of holder/creator, Schneiderlin could roam and Fletcher could combine his fine passing with his knack for breaking up play. It is a well-balanced lineup, though there is little here that would make United fans pine for the departed, except in terms of the affection felt for Fletcher—who, in his own way, is an actual United legend.
Current United Midfield
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In Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera, United have the best midfield pairing at Old Trafford since Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. While the incumbents have not reached the level of their illustrious predecessors, they have the potential to get close.
They are both such all-rounders, true midfielders who can contribute to both attack and defence. If they were put in a midfield three alongside an outstanding holding midfielder, their potential would be near-limitless, but as it is, they make a fine couplet.
Both contenders for United's player of the season, the partnership between these two offers a good deal of hope for the Red Devils' future.
Edge in midfield: Current United XI
Ex-Reds Attack
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This is where the best of the ex-Reds are found. Such is the strength in depth that there is no place in the starting XI for Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck or Wilfried Zaha.
In their stead is a front three of superstars. Playing off the left is Ronaldo—that master goalscorer and one of the all-time greats of the game. Off the right is Angel Di Maria, a player whose name brings derision wherever United fans gather but who is nonetheless a true world-class talent.
Leading the line, surprisingly, is Radamel Falcao. His AS Monaco resurgence has been pleasing to witness, as his time in the Premier League seemed to indicate his top-level race was run. But he finds himself third in the Ligue 1 scoring charts this season, behind only Edinson Cavani and Alexandre Lacazette.
He nudges ahead of Lacazette on non-penalty goals, having scored four times from the spot to Lacazette's 10.
With Di Maria providing the ammunition, Falcao and Ronaldo could fill their boots here.
Current United Attack
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Sadly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's injury means United fans have seen the last of the Swede for this season at least, but in this hypothetical game, he gets one last run-out.
Supporting him in attacking midfield are Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial.
That is an impressive collection of attacking talent, but it cannot quite match the Ronaldo-powered opposition for potential goals.
Edge in attack: Ex-Reds XI
Benches
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The seven players called up to provide support from the bench to the Ex-Reds XI are:
- Victor Valdes
- Fabio Da Silva
- Michael Keane
- Danny Drinkwater
- Wilf Zaha
- Shinji Kagawa
- Chicharito
There is plenty of defensive cover here and attacking players with the potential.
On current-day United's bench, we'd go with:
- Sergio Romero
- Daley Blind
- Phil Jones
- Michael Carrick
- Marouane Fellaini
- Jesse Lingard
- Marcus Rashford
Controversially, that means there is no place for Wayne Rooney in the squad. The pace of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford and the game-changing battering-ram qualities of Marouane Fellaini are preferred.
Edge: Slight edge to the Ex-Reds.
Who Would Win?
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Well, with two edges apiece and one tied, a tiebreaker is needed. Fortunately, an obvious one exists. The Ex-Reds would have to be led by David Moyes, the only former United boss employed as a manager elsewhere. That would hand a substantial advantage to the current crop, as Mourinho would hold the reins here.
It would be a close affair, with both teams being stronger in attack than defence. In the end, the current crop's midfield nous should make up for the Ex-Reds' superior firepower, particularly given the people in charge of both sides.
Penalty-goal data per Transfermarkt.
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