United’s defensive rock latest in long line of heroes from football powerhouse

Manchester United have a rich and long history with players from the Netherlands. Matthijs de Ligt is the most recent player from the country to take up the mantle as a hero for the United fans with his all-action defensive contributions. Every Dutch player to play for United PlayerAppearancesGoalsYears Active Edwin van der Sar26602005-2011 Ruud van Nistelrooy2191502001-2006 Daley Blind14162014-2018 Jaap Stam12711998-2001 Robin van Persie105582012-2015 Arnold Muhren 93171982-1985 Donny van de Beek6222020-2024 Raimond van der Gouw6001996-2002 Jordi Cruyff5881996-1999 Matthijs de Ligt5432024- Joshua Zirkzee5472024- Memphis Depay5372015-2017 Tyrell Malacia4702022- Wout Weghorst3122023 Timothy Fosu-Mensah3002016-2021 Alexander Buttner 2822012-2014 Source: transfermarkt.com 1) Edwin van der Sar The legendary goalkeeper only spent six years at the club, but what a time it was! The calming presence at the back won multiple league titles and the Champions League. He also formed a fine partnership with other giants of the club’s history such as Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. 2) Ruud van Nistelrooy The striker was one of the most lethal in United’s history and was adored by the Stretford End. Van Nistelrooy won a league title, an FA Cup and League Cup with United and would later join the club as an assistant coach for a brief spell. He also led out the team as interim manager for four games after Erik ten Hag was sacked. 3) Daley Blind Somewhat surprisingly, Blind is the Dutch player with the third most appearances for the club. The cultured footballer played in centre midfield, full back and centre back for United, showing his football intelligence. He also won the Europa League and League Cup at the club. 4) Jaap Stam The defender was as hard as nails and made a huge impression on the club despite only spending three seasons at Old Trafford. He won the league title in his three years in Manchester and also the treble in 1999. Sir Alex Ferguson has gone on record stating that one of his biggest mistakes was selling the incredible defender in 2001. 5) Robin van Persie In a common trend amongst Dutch stars at United, Van Persie made a huge impact in too short a period of time. He arrived to much fanfare in 2012 and helped United win back the Premier League title with 30 goals in his debut season. Unfortunately his final two seasons were far less successful but he will always have a special place in the history of the club. 6) Arnold Muhren The midfielder was the first Dutchman to pull on the red shirt of United in the early eighties. He won the FA Cup with the club in 1983 after winning three European Cups with Ajax in the 1970s. 7) Donny van de Beek Again, there is a surprising entrant at number seven. Van de Beek joined with a huge reputation in 2020 from Ajax. Nonetheless, he struggled to gain the trust of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Erik ten Hag at United and was finally sold to Girona in 2024. 8)Raimond van der Gouw Van der Gouw played an invaluable role in United’s success in the late ninties. Always a back up to Peter Schmeichel, he played the role to perfection, providing a solid alternative whenever the Great Dane could not start. 9)Jordi Cruyff Son of the legendary Johan, Jordi was always going to have a lot to live up to. He played his part as a useful squad player in a team bursting with talent but could never find a way to being a regular first teamer under Sir Alex Ferguson. 10) Matthijs de Ligt The giant centre back had a solid debut season at Old Trafford but he has really come on leaps and bounds in his second year. He has made himself the club’s first choice centre back this season and fans are incredibly excited to see how good the former Golden Boy winner can become. 11) Joshua Zirkzee The former Bologna striker had a very mixed debut season at United. He sometimes looked totally lost but at others showed great skill and flair. Zirkzee has barely featured this season with the arrival of Benjamin Sesko and there have been a flurry of rumours that he may be heading elsewhere in the not so distant future. 12)Memphis Depay Depay struggled to make much impact during his time at Old Trafford in spite of impressing at PSV Eindhoven. He has gone on to have a successful career playing for FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais. He also has the honour of being the Netherlands’ all-time top scorer. 13)Tyrell Malacia Malacia joined the club in 2022 and had a decent debut campaign at Old Trafford. Nonetheless, he missed the entirety of his second season due to injury and despite being fit, finds himself with little chance of making it at the club. 14)Wout Weghorst The Ajax striker joined the club as an emergency loan in the winter market of 2023 and won the Carabao Cup, providing an assist for Marcus Rashford in the final. 15) Timothy Fosu-Mensah The youngster came through the United academy and played most of his football at the club under Jose Mourinho. He struggled with injuries however, and left the club permanently in 2021. 16) Alexander Buttner Buttner joined United in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season and won the league. He never really lived up to his potential but he will always have a medal to remember his brief spell in Manchester. – The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.