Five Of The Best Manchester United Captains In The Premier League Era Including Former Villa, Newcastle And Sunderland Bosses

Manchester United have had a collection of brilliant captains over the years who have led them to no end of trophies – here’s a look at the five best in the Premier League era.

For clarification, we aren’t ranking these players based on their footballing talents – we’re looking at their leadership skills and ability to get the best out of the players around them.

United’s current captain is Harry Maguire – while he’s a vociferous figure from the heart of defence (when he plays that is), he just missed out on this list.

Others, such as Eric Cantona and Michael Carrick, simply didn’t have the armband for long enough to make a lasting impression.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney wasn’t in his prime when he took the armband – however, from a mental standpoint, he upped his game tremendously upon receiving the honour.

He was always in the referee’s ear as United captain – he always made sure that his team were getting a fair shake of the decisions. So much so, you’d sometimes think he’d been told to man-mark them!

While Rooney’s run as United captain wasn’t during his best years at the club, he nonetheless stepped up to the mark and proved everyone who saw him as a “diva” completely wrong.

Gary Neville

Gary Neville, for many years, was Manchester United’s ol’ reliable. A consummate professional who poured his heart and soul into every game he played in, he was an obvious choice to take the armband after Roy Keane left the club.

While he was never the most spectacular of footballers, he was always solid and never shied away from a meaty challenge – in many ways, he was a manager’s dream.

Now, Neville frequently criticises United players as a pundit – would the current batch of players look more like a cohesive unit under the Bury-born man’s captaincy?

Steve Bruce

Younger Manchester United fans may only know Steve Bruce as the salad-dodging, route one manager that he is today – however, more experienced Red Devils supporters will remember him for being one of the most solid centre-halves in United’s rich history.

While he wasn’t known for his technical ability – far from it – he was lauded for his bravery and determination, not to mention his excellent defensive positioning.

Bruce was United captain from 1992-1996 – up until 1994, the Newcastle native shared the captaincy with United legend Bryan Robson.

Many of these players in this list have gone on to manage in the game but none more so than Steve Bruce who has been the boss at Villa, Newcastle United, Birmingham City And Sunderland to name just a few clubs.

Nemanja Vidic

If there has ever been one defender that strikers would’ve dreaded playing against above all others, it is probably Nemanja Vidic. Can you blame them?

Vidic didn’t just terrify the opposition – he also knew how to put the wind up his teammates as captain. A ruthless but effective leader, no player would have dared to give anything less than 100% with Vidic around.

The Serb ruled with an iron fist – but there was one other Manchester United club captain who players feared even more than him.

Roy Keane

Roy Keane is more than just the greatest Manchester United captain in the Premier League era – he’s arguably the greatest captain of all time.

While a very talented player in his own right, Keane lifted those around him – he demanded the best out the rest of the team and led by example.

Keane’s fearlessness knew no bounds. Without him, the legendary 1999 team likely would not have achieved their unmatched treble – his leadership was a key factor in their success.

Roy Keane like his team-mate Steve Bruce was also manager of Sunderland but had a pretty successful spell with the BlackCats before leaving under a bit of a cloud after leading them back into the Premier League.