Jones: My Top 5 United Legends

We asked Phil Jones to pick his top five Manchester United legends and, opting to stick with just the Reds he's played with in four seasons at Old Trafford, he selected this quintet...

PAUL SCHOLES
Key stats: 718 appearances, 155 goals, 20 major honours
Profile: Produced by the club’s academy, this ‘Class of 1992’ graduate became one of the finest players of his generation during an illustrious 19-season career at Old Trafford. Loved by the fans, respected by his peers, Scholesy drew the blueprint for creative, ball-playing midfielders of the modern era.
Jones says: "Why would I pick Scholesy? He was just a tactical genius, and one of the best players."

RYAN GIGGS
Key stats: 963 appearances, 168 goals, 25 major honours
Profile: Is there a better CV in football? The Welshman became United’s leading appearance-maker across a remarkable 24 top-flight campaigns and adopted a coaching role in the final year of his career, before enjoying a four-game spell as interim boss. He’s now Louis van Gaal's assistant manager and has ambitions to be every bit as successful in suits as he was in boots.
Jones says: "What can you say about Giggsy? He's class in everything he does. He was just class as a player, not just in what he did on the pitch but also off the pitch."

RIO FERDINAND
Key stats: 455 appearances, 8 goals, 13 major honours
Profile: Often described as a “Rolls Royce” of a defender, Rio was among the world’s elite for much of his career and later became England captain under Fabio Capello. His partnership with Nemanja Vidic at United became the stuff of legend. One was tough, the other slick. Both wrote themselves into the club's history.
Jones says: “Rio was a good passer of the ball. He read the game well and was a top defender.”

NEMANJA VIDIC
Key stats: 300 appearances, 21 goals, 10 major honours
Profile: A teak-tough centre-back who knew no fear, the Serbian became a cult hero at United following his 2006 transfer from Spartak Moscow and later succeeded Gary Neville as club captain. A quiet character off the pitch, but you wouldn’t mess with him on it – which fans often celebrated in song.
Jones says: “Vida would head and kick everything that came his way. He was great with Rio. They just complemented each other really well and I looked up to both.”

WAYNE ROONEY
Key stats: 479 appearances, 230 goals, 9 major honours
Profile: The United and England captain is close to breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring records for club and country, which would cement his place among the nation’s greatest-ever players. He’s tenacious, versatile and powerful, but perhaps more impressively, he’s been consistent over 11 seasons as a Red.
Jones says: “The goals that Wazza has scored for this club have taken him to a new level.”