Manchester United FC have always had great strikers and wingers throughout their tenure in the first division of English football. As the history books suggest, the Red Devils have always had at least one lethal striker in their squad. Sir Alex Ferguson often had more than two strikers who could play in tandem and be a menace for the opposition defences.
Even the likes of Sir Matt Busby always had more than one good goalscorer in his side to add to the unpredictability. The club has had some legendary goalscorers who have lighted up the world with their goalscoring abilities. Here we take a look at the some of the all-time highest scorers of Manchester United.
All-Time Highest Goalscorers at Manchester United
#4 JACK ROWLEY (211 Goals) –
Most of us might not know the departed Jack Rowley, who is one of the greatest strikers to have worn the United shirt. The Englishman was scooped from Bournemouth by Sir Matt Busby in 1937 when he was only 17 years old. Surprisingly, he was so good that he played his first United game only after one day of his signing.
Rowley is still believed to have one of the best left-foots in the history of English football. This also gave him his famous nickname of “The Gunner” as he spent 17 years at Old Trafford playing for the Red Devils. The striker scored played a total of 424 games for the Red Devil, in which he scored 211 goals.
Rowley is only one of the four players to have scored over 200 goals for Manchester United. He was instrumental for the First Division title in 1951/52 season, where he scored 30 goals.
#3 DENIS LAW (237 Goals) –
Arguably one of the best No.10s in the history of Manchester United, Denis Law is an icon of the beautiful game. Law was also signed by Sir Matt Busby in 1962 from Torino, for a British record transfer fee of £115,000. The Scottish international was a heartthrob on and off the pitch with his handsome looks and silky skills on the ball.
Denis Law joined United to form one of the most feared attacking trios in the history of the game, with Charlton and Best. Their partnership was known as the Holy Trinity, and the three also have their statue outside Old Trafford. Law stayed at Old Trafford 11 years and was also won the coveted Ballon d’Or in 1964.
In his time at United played 404 games in which he scored a mammoth 237 goals. In his time at Old Trafford, Denis Law won a couple of First Division titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup.
#2 SIR BOBBY CHARLTON (249 Goals) –
The prefix of “Sir” should be enough for all those who do not know about the qualities and charisma Sir Bobby possessed. His goalscoring tally is phenomenal and it just becomes better when you realise he was a midfielder. Sir Bobby Charlton was a huge servant to Manchester United as well as the England national team with whom he won the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
The midfielder stayed at Old Trafford for a whopping 17 years in which he played 758 matches and scored 249 goals. He captained the United team that won the European Cup in 1968 and also scored two goals in the final. Sir Bobby won the Ballon d’Or once in 1966 and came second twice in 1967 and 1968.
In his time at Old Trafford, he won the First Division title thrice, the FA Cup once and the European Cup once. Sir Bobby Charlton has left a legacy that will be very hard to replace at Manchester United.
#1 WAYNE ROONEY (253 Goals) –
Arguably one of the most underrated players in the world of football, Wayne Rooney has won it all with United. Wayne Rooney was signed by United in 2004 by Sir Alex Ferguson for a record transfer fee that was ever paid for a teenager. Rooney made his United debut at 18-years of age and never looked back and played for 13 years at Old Trafford.
In his 13 year stay with Manchester United the England all-time highest goalscorer faced a lot of criticism but never backed out. Eventually, Rooney scored his 250th goal for the Red Devils to break Sir Bobby’s record of highest goals for United. He left the club after scoring 253 goals in 559 games that panned across 12 seasons.
Rooney won the Premier League five times, Champions League, Europa League and FIFA World Cup once and the EFL Cup thrice.
