Sir Alex Ferguson had two really great teams in his time at Manchester United, with both lifting the Champions League.
Over his 27-year reign, the legendary Manchester United manager established himself as the greatest in history, consistently rebuilding his team to triumph over opposition to win 13 Premier League titles. United’s 20th league title came in 2013, and since then there has been a drought.
At this time, Sir Alex Ferguson had some of the world’s biggest superstars at his disposal, with Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney among the best.
Sir Alex claims he only managed four world-class players at United, however when listing out the various Old Trafford greats, we can’t help but disagree.
One United legend, made into an icon by Sir Alex was Rio Ferdinand. Like most who played under the Scotsman, Ferdinand is an avid defender of Sir Alex.
Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand thinks Manchester United 2008 were better than 1999
Two of Sir Alex’s very best United teams came nine years apart, with the 1999 treble winners rivalled by the double winners of 2008.
Speaking back in 2022, Ferdinand was quizzed over which of the two teams stacked up as the best in United’s history, and he had a clear answer.
Ferdinand, speaking on the Filthy Fellas YouTube show, replied: “Yeah.
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“I reckon if we played them [the 1999 team] it’d be a tight game but… I think our team would beat them,” Ferdinand explained.
“I do. It’s all hypothetical, but I do really think we would.”
This is a bold statement, considering the 1999 side did go one step further, lifting the FA Cup in addition to the Premier League and Champions League.
However, Ferdinand could have a point.
Manchester United 1999 vs 2008
It would be one of the highest-quality games ever seen by English fans if the two eras were to clash, and both have a claim that they would come out on top.
1999 # 2008
Winners Premier League Winners
Winners Champions League Winners
Winners FA Cup Sixth round
Fifth round League Cup Third round
79 League points 87
80 Goals scored 80
37 Goals conceded 22
From looking beyond the trophies won, we can see that in the league, United’s 2008 side was much more dominant conceding just 22 goals which is ridiculous to think about.
If they faced off, we would have to think there would be goals, but 2008 would be more solid in the defence while having the true world-class talent of Rooney and Ronaldo to score goals.
United’s 2008 treble dream ended with Ferdinand in goal, which is a shame as that is probably the reason that Sir Alex didn’t repeat his 1999 heroics.
Both have a claim to the title of best in history, but 2008 slightly has the edge in our books, just like Ferdinand.