6 Denis Law

404 appearances, 237 goals

2 League titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 European Cup*, 2 Charity Shields
1 Ballon d’Or

Denis Law, the first ‘King’ of Old Trafford, is the finest out-and-out goalscorer in the history of Manchester United.

From the moment he scored seven minutes into his debut in August 1962, the Lawman was making and breaking records; in 1964, he set a club record of 46 goals in a season (in just 42 games!) which has not yet been matched or broken.

He won the Ballon d’Or for these exploits but then suffered a knee injury which affected the rest of his career; it ruled him out of the European Cup Final and caused Sir Matt Busby’s successors to question his reliability. When fit, though, Law was peerless — deadly and instinctive, with an unrivalled nous of knowing where the goal was. Had it not been for the knee injury Law would surely have scored over 300 goals for the club.

This is not a matter of lost potential causing a what if; Law’s pedigree and record spoke for itself anyway, with three seasons where he scored a minimum of 30 goals and three more where he scored a minimum of 24.