John McGinn of Aston Villa warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Club Brugge KV at Villa Park on March 12, 2025 in Birmingham, England.John McGinn of Aston Villa warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Club Brugge KV at Villa Park on March 12, 2025 in Birmingham, England.
John McGinn of Aston Villa warms up prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Aston Villa FC and Club Brugge KV at Villa Park on March 12, 2025 in Birmingham, England. | Getty Images
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn is aiming to break a record set by Manchester United legend Denis Law
Aston Villa star John McGinn wants to become Scotland’s all-time record goal-scorer, as he chases down the joint record held by Manchester United legend Denis Law and Liverpool stalwart Kenny Daglish.
Law spent 11 years at Old Trafford between 1962 and 1973, making 405 appearances for the Red Devils while scoring an astounding 237 goals. He won two league titles during his time at United, an FA Cup and was part of the first Red Devils side to win the European Cup in 1968.
His goal record at United was slightly more than one goal every other game. He had a similar record with Scotland, scoring 30 goals in just 55 caps. It is a feat McGinn has described as extraordinary. Dalglish also has 30 goals for Scotland, but did in 102 games with Law officially top of the record goal-standings due to playing fewer games.
McGinn eyes breaking record
McGinn has scored 20 goals in 73 games for Scotland, and while he cannot match the rate in which Law scored goals for his country - he is aiming to put himself top of the record books.
“Yeah it’s definitely a motivation to be amongst those names,” said McGinn via the Edinburgh Evening News. “Obviously if I had to choose the team winning over me scoring, I would still, but I sort of have it in the back of my mind.
“It's something that I think is achievable. I think ten more goals to match Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law is something I never thought I would say. So I've got it in the back of my mind, but first and foremost, I want to keep the team in Division A. If I manage to nick a couple and creep up towards it then even better.
“I didn't meet him (Law) at all. Obviously I was aware of how good he was. My dad told me, my grandpa, everyone sort of idolised him whether it was people down south, people up here. Everyone always spoke about how good a player he was and I think his record speaks for itself.
“I think he had 30 goals for Scotland and maybe even under 60 caps which is an extraordinary achievement. So everyone that speaks to him spoke so highly of him and I think the respect our football world showed him just shows how highly he was thought of and what a player he was.”
Which United players are on international duty?
There are no United players in the Scotland squad for their upcoming games, with former player Scott McTominay a regular in the national side. He is now enjoying a fruitful spell with Napoli in Serie A.
There will be plenty of interest around Denmark and Portugal’s Nations League games this week, with five United players to be involved in that game. Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot are in the Portugal side for the two-legged quarter final while Christian Eriksen, Patrick Dorgu and Rasmus Hojlund are in the Danish squad for those games. Matthijs de Ligt is also in Nations League action, as the Netherlands take on Spain.
Victor Lindelof is away with Sweden while Manuel Ugarte, Andre Onana and Noussair Mazraoui are on duty with Uruguay, Cameroon and Morocco, respectively.
In other news, United have reportedly 'planed the departure' of an academy star after a £180k-per-week demand as five others set to leave.