Sir Alex Ferguson's 10 Best Signings As Manchester United Manager

Many players have come to Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson first took the helm in 1986. There have been some great players and some terrible ones. I've compiled my list of Fergie's best buys ever based on the price he played for each player, how much that player would be worth years later and what they did for the club in the time they were Manchester United players.

Every one has their own opinion and I'm sure you'll disagree with me as to who should make the list. Please feel free to comment and let me know who you'd have instead.

Bruce signed from Norwich in 1987. He spent nine years in Manchester, earning over 300 appearances. A huge bargain, he went on to become the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to the league and cup double.

Over his nine-year tenure, Bruce won three League titles, three F.A. Cups and a League Cup. Incredibly Bruce never got the chance to play international football. 

Only a year after signing the great Dane in 1991,  Ferguson was already describing his goalkeeper as "the bargain of the century"—he was right. He'd go on to make nearly 300 appearances and is widely regarded today as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

In the eight years he spent at Old Trafford, Schmeichel won five Premier Leagues, three F.A. Cups, a League Cup and a Champion's League, playing an integral role in United's 1999 treble winning season.

Schemichel's defining moment in that green shirt came in that historic run of perfection and without him it would have never happened. He kept the dream alive when saving a Dennis Bergkamp penalty in the dying minutes of the F.A Cup semi-final to send the game into extra time.

He also captained the team to European glory in the absence of Roy Keane. 

The Irishman spent 12 years in Manchester playing over 360 times for the Red Devils. Supremely comfortable in both full back positions, Irwin also scored 22 goals as a penalty specialist.

He won seven Premier Leagues, three F.A. Cups and that Champions League. Ferguson fittingly gave Irwin the captain's armband for his final game against Charlton and got a standing ovation when he returned to Old Trafford in 2003 with Wolves. 

Not many players could be suspended for eight months for kung fu kicking a fan and still be regarded as a great signing. However this was Eric Cantona, the maverick.

Charismatic and always entertaining, Cantona had a swagger and character that you rarely see in football anymore. He didn't just talk either, he scored 64 goals in his 144 games, winning four Premier Leagues and two League and Cup doubles in five years.

Cantona is seen as a major reason in the revival of Manchester United as the powerhouse of English football.

His chipped goal and subdued celebration against Sunderland in 1996 is an iconic moment in the history of the Premier League; it was brilliant, it was arrogant, it was Eric Cantona. 

Bullish, aggressive and combative, Roy Keane was a great leader and the on-field general for 12 years in Manchester. Keane played over 300 games and easily justified what was, at the time, a lot of money spent on him.

He won seven League titles, four F.A. Cups and a Champions League; leading United to glory in most cases.

All you need to know about Roy Keane is summed up in this quote from Sir Alex:

"It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt such an honour to be associated with such a player". 

Signed as a replacement for Cantona, Sheringham spent four years at Manchester United, making over 100 appearances and scoring over 30 goals.

Despite spending a lot of time behind the partnership of Cole and Yorke, Sheringham managed to justify his signing when he scored in the F.A Cup final and then a week later the equaliser in stoppage time of the Champion's League in 1999. He then won the ball that Ole Gunner Solskjaer tapped in for one of the greatest moments in English footballing history.

When you consider the price tag, Ole Gunner Solskjaer must go down as one of the best signings in Premier League history.

The baby-faced assassin spent 11 years at Old Trafford, making over 200 appearances and scoring 91 goals (including 'that' one). The original 'super-sub', Solskjaer once came off the bench to score four goals in the last 12 minutes in an 8-1 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.

To this day, Solskjaer continues his involvement with the club as reserve team manger. He has announced he will leave his post at the end of the season but is widely tipped to return as a possible replacement for Ferguson in the future.   

Knowing what we know now, the big clubs would have paid four times the £6m Ferguson paid for the Serbian in 2006 and considered a bargain.

A January signing, the now 29-year-old has formed a solid partnership with Rio Ferdinand and is now captain at Old Trafford. Vidic has made over 140 appearances and has won three Premier Leagues, three Carling Cups and a Champions League in his relatively short stint thus far in Manchester.

The French full back was signed just four days after Vidic but has made a similarly great impact with United.

Evra has also made over 140 appearances and has given United a great attacking threat up the left. Despite only scoring twice, Evra has had a hand in a lot of what United have done well in the final third of the pitch as well as the defensive one.

Evra is now regarded as one of the best players in the world in his position and is comfortably worth three time his transfer fee.

Sir Alex signed an 18-year-old Ronaldo for £12.25m in 2003. Six years and 80+ goals later, the world player of the year was sold to Real Madrid for a profit of close to £70m, easily the largest net profit for one player in history.

Ronaldo played just short of 200 times in Manchester and was a key player in winning three Premier Leagues, an F.A Cup, two League Cups and a Champions League.

This was a great bit of business by Ferguson.