Footballers don't come much better than Sir Bobby Charlton. For most, he is inarguably the greatest player to ever represent Manchester United.
A survivor of the Munich Air Disaster, the Englishman went on to make 758 appearances and score a then-record 249 goals for the Red Devils. He also helped deliver the club's first European Cup in 1968, and was also key to three First Division triumphs.
When you take Sir Bobby out of the question, Man United certainly aren't short for legends. And in 2011, he revealed to the Daily Mail which three former club icons he considered to be the very best.
Explaining that he chose players of an older generation, as they didn't have modern medicine and surgery to help with injury setbacks, "now, with keyhole surgery, you’re back training in 48 hours", – he said:
‘That’s why, when I’m asked to name the best players in the history of our club (excluding himself), the first three are Edwards, Best and Law.’
Duncan Edwards
Special player who died too young
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In the same interview, Charlton would describe Duncan Edwards as his number on pick for all footballers, not just at Man United. He remarked: "Ask me who is the greatest footballer the world has ever seen. Ask me who is the greatest footballer I ever played with. Ask me who is the greatest footballer I ever played against. Same answer: Duncan Edwards. Don’t ask me how much greater he would have become. It defies imagination."
Edwards broke into the first team as a 16-year-old and helped deliver back-to-back league titles before sadly dying in the Munich Air disaster. He was just 21 years old at the time. For almost all who saw him play, he was on the path to becoming an all-time great before his life was tragically cut short.
George Best
The original football maverick
Such as the Northern Irishman's lavish lifestyle, George Best and Charlton fell out, even growing to hate each other, during their final years as teammates at Old Trafford. Even so, both men were able to ultimately put aside their differences when it came to talking about their respective achievements for Manchester United.
Both men were part of the rare British group to win the Ballon d'Or, and represent a golden era of football for the Red Devils. Of all British footballers, perhaps only Charlton is rated higher than Best.
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It was too soon for players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to be considered, but Charlton still built a remarkable team.
Denis Law
Scottish Ballon d'Or Winner
Another British Ballon d'Or winner, Denis Law was the first of the trio to do so, claiming the prize in 1964, with the next two wins each coming exactly two years apart. A true Man United icon, he's up there with Scotland's greatest-ever players too.
Along with Charlton and Best, he was part of the 'holy trinity' of Manchester United's great side of the 1960s. Law seemed to feel just as fondly of those two as they did him, once saying: "The great part of playing with Bobby and George was that if one of us was having a bad day, the other two knew and that's what made our relationship special.