Ranking Manchester United's Greatest Over-30 Signings of the Premier League Era
Manchester United have generally avoided signing older players. In the Premier League era, a small percentage of the players they have brought in have been north of 30 years old when they arrived at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson built his reputation on young, dynamic sides, and the age profile of his signings lives up to that billing. But there were the odd exceptions. Occasionally, Sir Alex would import a wily old stager to add experience and leadership to his dressing room.
Of the top five here, four were Fergie signings, and there are no prizes for guessing who the fifth is.
We decided to rank that top five, but before we do, there is a word about a couple of post-Ferguson signings who did not work out.
There's a special mention for a notable loan deal and an award for the best 29-year-old—because when you get a chance to talk about the signing of Robin van Persie, you take it.
Best 29-Year-Old
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Van Persie turned 30 on August 6, 2013, having arrived at United just under a year before. He gets a special mention here because his signing is in the spirit of this ranking, but it does not conform to the letter of it.
At the time of his arrival, he was a hugely experienced player at the tail end of his career, and he provided a huge boost to United's dressing room.
His goals made a telling difference to United's fortunes, but he seemed to inspire his team-mate too. He clearly loved being at United and had Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to look up to himself, but the younger players obviously idolised him.
Sir Alex rarely signed players over 30, but he rarely signed 29-year-olds, either. He made Van Persie a glorious exception to the rule, and United fans everywhere are delighted he did.
Not Making the Cut
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Louis van Gaal tried to import some seniority and experience into his young dressing room with the arrivals of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Victor Valdes.
Neither signing worked out.
Schweinsteiger was 31 by the time he started his first competitive game for United, but he somehow seemed older. Serious injuries had clearly had an effect, and he was noticeably physically laboured on occasion.
His leadership qualities were clear, and he seemed to take his pastoral responsibilities seriously, but when Jose Mourinho rocked up last summer, Schweinsteiger's United goose was cooked.
As for Valdes, he turned up, played one-and-a-bit games for the first team, fell out with Van Gaal and then left. It was all a bit of a shame and a waste of a player with plenty left to offer.
Special Mention: Henrik Larsson, Loan, 2007
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There's something about legendary Swedish strikers arriving at Old Trafford in their twilight years.
Henrik Larsson's arrival preceded Zlatan Ibrahimovic's by almost a decade. While he made much less impact than the latter, there is a misty-eyed fondness with which United fans recall Larsson's brief cameo that makes him worthy of a special mention here.
He made five Premier League starts and two substitute appearances, played in the FA Cup four times (once as a sub) and started two Champions League games. He scored against Watford in the league, Aston Villa in the cup and Lille in Europe.
And then he left, fulfilling his promise to his boyhood club Helsingborgs, where he had been since 2006 and where he stayed until 2009.
Larsson at United was lovely but bittersweet. There will always be a tinge of regret about how fleeting it all was.
5. Raimond van der Gouw, 1996, Free
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On with the rankings, then, and in fifth place one of the better back-up 'keepers United have had.
Raimond van der Gouw arrived at United happy with a secondary role after a career in Dutch football. He made under 50 starts in his five seasons at the club but made important contributions in that time, filling in when Peter Schmeichel was injured for a spell in the 1998/1999 campaign, for example.
He made 20 starts in the 1999/2000 season after Schmeichel's departure, and between his five starts and five sub appearances the following year, he managed to earn back-to-back league winners' medals.
Not one of United's greats but a stable and steady presence throughout his time at the club—a classic late-career, second-choice-at-a-big-club spell for an older goalkeeper.
4. Laurent Blanc, 2001, Free
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Laurent Blanc's signing was not a complete success. There were plenty of critics of Sir Alex's decision to bring him to the club, particularly because he would be replacing Jaap Stam.
Fergie was typically bullish, telling MUTV (h/t Sky Sports):
"I should have got him five years ago. They will all say he's slow and all the rest of it, but there is not one goal he has been responsible for this season—not one.
"The press are not going to allow him to be successful. I think that's their intention, and it's unfortunate because he is a fantastic character and he's added a lot to the team in terms of character and how he perceives the game.
"He talks such great sense about the game, and I think the players he is playing with will look back years from now and say 'he was a great player. He taught us this, he taught us that and we learned from him.'
"The French players all looked up to him as the man, and it's just unfortunate that he is getting the criticism that he is.
"He's not the quickest. He never was the quickest, but that is never going to be accepted."
The truth probably lies somewhere between Sir Alex's defensiveness and the at-least partially justified criticism Blanc received. Still, in spite of having arrived at 35, he turned out 75 times for United, including 24 starts in Champions League games. He is worthy of a place on this list, even if it is in a pretty lowly spot.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 2016, Free
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There is a big gap between fourth and third here. Ibrahimovic might have found a way to climb the list even further but for the cruel injury he suffered that ended his season—and likely his United career.
It was brief, but what a career it was. He scored 28 goals, including 17 in the Premier League. Considering there had long been speculation that Ibrahimovic would not succeed in the Premier League, even in his prime, to do so decisively at 35 was an incredible achievement.
He was instrumental in United's EFL Cup win this season, and if they go on to win the Europa League without him, his team-mates will have plenty of cause to be grateful for the Swede's contributions to that campaign.
It is a massive shame he will not be able to contribute further—the fairytale ending of him scoring the winner in the final in Stockholm will not be written. Instead, he will be fondly remembered as a player who came, saw and scored a lot of goals.
2. Teddy Sheringham, £3.5M, 1997
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In truth, there is another big gap between third and second, not in terms of quality of player but in terms of impact at United.
Teddy Sheringham arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 1997 aged 31. By the time he returned to Spurs in 2001, he had won three league titles, an FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have scored the winner in the 1999 Champions League final, but it was Sheringham who lit the fuse, scoring the equaliser in the game's dying embers.
He went on to be crowned United's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year in 2000/01, a season in which he was also the Red Devils' top scorer, with 21 goals.
For relative longevity and key contribution, Sheringham easily takes second.
1. Edwin van der Sar, Free, 2005
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While Sheringham made a big impact, there was only ever one winner here. Sir Alex may have regretted not signing Blanc sooner, but Edwin van der Sar's United career should definitely have started a few seasons earlier.
He was a key component in his manager's last great side, the rock at the back of an incredibly solid defence upon which was built a remarkable platform for success. Cristiano Ronaldo may have been the most important component in United's 2007/08 triumphs, but Van Der Sar was vital too.
He arrived in June 2005, already 34. He won four Premier League titles before leaving the club in 2011. That would be impressive for someone who had arrived at 28, but for a 34-year-old, it is unparalleled in United's modern history.
He was man of the match in the Champions League final in 2008, having saved the penalty that won United the trophy during the shootout.
The image of him standing with his arms aloft in the Russian rain is seared indelibly into the minds of those who saw it. He is comfortably United's best over-30 signing of the Premier League era.
Goal and appearance data per Website of Dreams.
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