Manchester United legend Denis Irwin opened up on the club teammate who was the best dribbler and his “two personal favourites” during his time at Old Trafford.
Signed for a fee of £650,000 from Oldham Athletic in 1990, Irwin made a long-lasting impression during his prolific playing career at United.
Sir Alex Ferguson raved about the Irishman so much that he once claimed the “unbelievable” Irwin would be the “one certainty” in his all-time United XI.
Irwin, who is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best-ever left-backs, was widely revered for both his defensive and offensive abilities.
The former Republic of Ireland international could be deployed as a right-back or left-back and excelled at both free-kicks and penalties.
During his time at United, Irwin lifted an impressive seven Premier League titles, a Champions League, two FA Cups and a League Cup under Ferguson.
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Irwin on his former United teammates
Irwin went on to play for Wolves in 2002 before retiring in 2004, but the ex-United man is thought of highly by the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane.
The United legend played with an abundance of talented players during his time at Old Trafford, including Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel and Jaap Stam.
However, Irwin previously named the standout United players he played with in his career like Paul Scholes, who was the most skilful in his eyes.
The ex-United defender revealed that Ryan Giggs was the best dribbler he played alongside and his “two personal favourites” were Bryan Robson and Keane.
Speaking to Sportstar in 2017, Irwin said: “In terms of skill, it has to be Paul Scholes. He had vision, creativity and goalscoring ability.
“I’d say Ryan Giggs was the best dribbler. But my two personal favourites were Bryan Robson and Roy Keane. Both were born leaders, robust and tough.”
Irwin’s toughest opponents named
While he shared the pitch with incredibly talented teammates, Irwin faced his fair share of competition both at United and on the international stage with his country.
The ex-Republic of Ireland defender revealed that three players proved to be formidable opposition, which included the likes of Liverpool hero John Barnes.
“John Barnes was a great player for Liverpool,” Irwin said.
“In Europe, the Barcelona pair of Hristo Stoichkov and Gheorghe Hagi were just superb. They were so clever, had a low centre of gravity and were so very quick, it was very tough to mark them.”
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