How many ‘World Class’ players do Manchester United have?

As Manchester United continue to be inconsistent under new interim coach Ralph Rangnick. There’s a feeling a side stacked with ‘world class’ players should be performing better.

Today I’m analysing their first-team squad to figure out how many truly ‘world class’ players United have right now, and whether or not that is a fair criticism.

Is Manchester United’s squad really as ‘world class’ as some make out?

Manchester United Squad breakdown:

Goalkeepers

Dean Henderson — Age: 24 — Trophies won: 1 (FA Cup)

Tom Heaton — Age: 35 — Trophies won: 2 (Champions League, Premier League)

Lee Grant — Age: 38 — Trophies won: 3

David De Gea — Age: 31 — Trophies won: 9 (UEFA Europa League x 2, UEFA Super Cup, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield x 3

Defenders

Luke Shaw — Age: 26 — Trophies won: 3 (League Cup, Europa League, English Super-Cup)

Harry Maguire — Age 28: — Trophies won: 0

Victor Lindelof — Age: 27 — Trophies won: 8 (Portuguese Champion x3, Portuguese Cup x2, Portuguese League Cup, Euro U-21 Champion, Portuguese Super Cup)

Eric Bailly — Age: 27 — Trophies won: 4 (AFCON, Europa League, League Cup, English Super Cup)

Phil Jones — Age: 29 — Trophies won: 6 (Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, English Super Cup x2)

Raphael Varane — Age: 29 — Trophies won: 20 (FIFA World Cup, Champions League x4, La Liga x3, Spanish Cup x3, FIFA Club World Cup x4, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Super Cup x3)

Alex Telles — Age: 29 — Trophies won: 8 (Portuguese Champion x2, Portuguese Cup, Turkish Champion, Turkish Cup x2, Turkish Super-Cup x2)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka — Age: 24 — Trophies won: 0

Diogo Dalot — Age: 22 — Trophies won: 1 (Portuguese Champion)

Midfielders

Scott McTominay — Age: 25 — Trophies won: 0

Fred — Age: 28 — Trophies won: 10 (Ukraine Champion x3, Ukraine Cup x3, Ukraine Super Cup x4)

Nemanja Matic — Age: 33 — Trophies won: 9 (Premier League x3, FA Cup, League Cup, Portuguese Champion, Portuguese Cup, Portuguese League Cup x2)

Paul Pogba — Age: 28 — Trophies won: 13 (FIFA World Cup, League Cup x2, Serie A x4, Italian Cup x2 Italian Super Cup x2, UEFA Nations League, Europa League)

Bruno Fernandes — Age: 27 — Trophies won: 4 (Portuguese Cup, Portuguese League Cup x2, UEFA Nations League)

Donny Van De Beek — Age: 24 — Trophies won: 3 (Dutch Champion, Dutch Cup Winner, Dutch SuperCup Winner)

Juan Mata — Age: 33 — Trophies won: 12 (World Cup, European Cup, Champions League, FA Cup x2, League Cup, Spanish Cup, Europa League x2, Euro U-21 Championship, Euro U-19 Championship, English Super Cup

Jesse Lingard — Age: 29 — Trophies won: 4 (FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League, English Super Cup)

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo — Age: 36 — Trophies won: 34 (Champions League x5, European Championship, Premier League x3, FA Cup, League Cup x2, La Liga x2, Spanish Cup x2, Spanish Super Cup x2, Serie A x2, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup x2, FIFA Club World Cup x4, UEFA Super Cup x3, UEFA Nations League, Portuguese Super Cup, English Super Cup x2

Marcus Rashford — Age: 24 — Trophies won: 4 (FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League, English Super Cup)

Anthony Martial — Age: 26 — Trophies won: 5 (FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Nations League, Europa League, English Super Cup,

Jadon Sancho — Age: 21 — Trophies won: 2 (German Cup, German Super Cup)

Mason Greenwood — Age: 20 — Trophies won: 0

Edison Cavani — Age: 34 — Trophies won: 25 (Copa America, Italian Cup, French Champion x6, French Cup x4, French League Cup x5, French Super-Cup x7)

Amad Diallo — Age: 19 — Trophies won: 0

Tahith Chong — Age: 22 — Trophies won: 0

Conclusion

In goal, David De Gea has been voted Manchester United player of the season four of the last eight seasons and has produced mostly at a world-class level.

The defenders except for Raphael Varane have not won any major European or international trophies and can not be labelled ‘world-class.’

In midfield, Paul Pogba has played at a ‘world-class’ level for France in 2018 when they won the World Cup but for Manchester United has been consistently inconsistent. Bruno Fernandes played at a world-class level last season (18 goals, 12 assists in 37 Premier League appearances) but has not won any major honours for a club or country. Nemanja Matic won the Premier League for Chelsea playing at a high level. Juan Mata best days are behind him. The rest of the midfield is a mixture of inexperience, youth and role players with a lack of major silverware.

The forwards are where United can claim to have genuine world-class talent. Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction, four Ballon D’or, five Champions Leagues and seven League titles, one of the greatest players ever. Edison Cavani despite his age, still belongs in the world-class conversation. Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho have world-class potential, but both prospects lack the silverware and consistency right now. Rashford and Martial have shown ‘world-class’ flashes but are not proven serial winners.

As you can see Manchester United have a brilliant football team, with a few ‘world-class’ players, but the narrative they have a team full of world-beaters is simply untrue.

This is a side that despite the money they have spent over the last decade or still lacking in superstar quality in comparison to their direct Premier League rivals.