Manchester United's best ever XI ... The third forward 💥 | OneFootball

With the football on hold at the moment, we’ve been thinking about who gets in Manchester United’s all-time XI.

Today we’re choosing our third and final forward.

Here are the nominees …

3rd – Andy Cole

United spent a British record £6m (plus Keith Gillespie) to sign Cole from Newcastle mid-way through the 1994/95 season and he quickly repaid a large chunk of it by scoring 12 goals in his first 18 Premier League matches, five of which came in a 9-0 demolition of Ipswich Town.

The England striker spent six years at Old Trafford during which time he won five league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League, and his partnership with Dwight Yorke during the 1998/99 Treble winning season was a joy to watch.

Cole was sometimes criticised for being wasteful in front of goal but the fact he bagged 121 goals in 231 starts contradicts that theory somewhat.

2nd – Denis Law

The fact Law played for Manchester City twice and is still considered a bona fide United legend tells you all you need to know about his contribution to the club.

The Scot moved to Old Trafford from Torino in 1962 and went on to enjoy 13 glorious years at the club, scoring 237 goals in 398 starts along the way.

In 1964 he was voted European Footballer of the Year but while he is the proud owner of a 1968 European Cup winner’s medal, he wasn’t actually at Wembley to lift the trophy because he was undergoing knee surgery.

In 1973 he went back to Manchester City, for whom he would later score a goal which effectively relegated United to the Second Division.

But he still holds a United record for scoring 46 goals in a single season and he has not one but two statues dedicated to him outside Old Trafford.

The original King of the Stretford End.

And the winner is … Cristiano Ronaldo

He might not have even quite hit his peak at Old Trafford, but it’s impossible to deny that one of the greatest footballers ever is also one of the finest forwards ever to wear the red shirt.

Sir Alex Ferguson brought Ronaldo to United from Sporting Lisbon for a bargain £12.24m in 2003 and he was immediately bestowed the great honour of wearing the club’s hallowed number 7 shirt.

The teenager showed plenty of promise in his first season but he was often accused of being a Fancy Dan and even clashed with team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy over showboating in training.

But in the coming years, the Portuguese would mature under Ferguson’s guidance and he soon blossomed into one of the best players in the world.

In 2007 he finished second behind Kaká in the running for the Ballon d’Or but the following year, his 31 league goals earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, the European Golden Shoe and the PFA Player of the Year award.

Ronaldo eventually left in a world record transfer to Real Madrid in 2009 having scored 118 times in 292 games for United – goals which helped the club to seven major honours.

And this was probably the pick of the bunch …

Check back tomorrow when we will be revealing the team in full!