{"id":639071,"date":"2025-12-17T22:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/639071\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:59:15","slug":"manchester-uniteds-best-right-backs-of-the-21st-century-25-years-of-the-2000s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/639071\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United\u2019s best right-backs of the 21st Century, 25 years of the 2000s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who is the best right-back to play for Manchester United over the past 25 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once the dominant force of English football, Manchester United are no longer the force we once were in 2000<\/a>. And we hope that will flip back around again soon.<\/p>\n

Along the journey there has been a staggering amount of changes, and the right-back position has neatly illustrated the constant evolution.<\/p>\n

We are building our \u2018Best Team of the 21st Century\u2019, looking at the top players to represent the club from 2000 to 2025, previously looking at goalkeepers<\/a> and left-backs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are seven contenders in our poll to claim the right-back position\u2026<\/p>\n

Who is the best Manchester United right-back 2000-2025? Cast your vote! \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f <\/p>\n

Help us pick our best XI!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Gary Neville<\/p>\n

The only place to start, Gary Neville<\/a> is the iconic Manchester United right-back of the Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a> era. But he did not make it all the way to the end.<\/p>\n

Neville missed out on the 2008 Champions League final<\/a> due to injury, before retiring during the 2010\/11<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

Now a pundit, Neville played a key role in United\u2019s early 2000s success, and played more than 20 league games in four title winning seasons since the turn of the century.<\/p>\n

\"GaryPhoto by John Peters\/Manchester United via Getty ImagesWes Brown<\/p>\n

Wes Brown<\/a> also features in our list of centre-back contenders, yet right-back was the position where he enjoyed his best moments.<\/p>\n

Brown started in Moscow in 2008 and is best remembered for delivering the cross for Cristiano Ronaldo<\/a> to score a towering header.<\/p>\n

\"ManchesterPhoto by Alex Livesey\/Getty ImagesRafael da Silva<\/p>\n

A real livewire at right-back, Rafael da Silva<\/a> broke into United\u2019s first team as a teenager in 2008\/09<\/a> and never looked back.<\/p>\n

Rafael played 170 games for the club, contributing to title-winning campaigns. He did miss out on the 2011 Champions League Final<\/a>, with his brother Fabio preferred<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Antonio Valencia<\/p>\n

A low-key signing from Wigan, Antonio Valencia<\/a> ended up becoming Manchester United\u2019s replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, an unenvious task.<\/p>\n

Valencia briefly wore the number seven shirt, and while that pressure was too much, he carved out an impressive career at the club and went on to captain the team.<\/p>\n

The Ecuadorian originally signed as a winger but really carved out a spot at right-back, thanks to his relentless ability to get up and down the flanks.<\/p>\n

\"F.C.Photo by Maja Hitij\/Getty ImagesAaron Wan-Bissaka<\/p>\n

You will struggle to find a better pure defender than Aaron Wan-Bissaka<\/a>, the true expert of a last-ditch slide tackle.<\/p>\n

Wan-Bissaka was a key player under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and enjoyed his best ever moment in his final match, helping United to win the 2024 FA Cup Final<\/a> at Wembley over City.<\/p>\n

Diogo Dalot<\/p>\n

A loyal servant, Diogo Dalot<\/a> has overcome a lot of challenges since joining Manchester United in 2018, playing under a succession of different managers.<\/p>\n

Dalot is equally comfortable playing on the right and left, and still has a lot more to offer, at just 26-years-old.<\/p>\n

Noussair Mazraoui<\/p>\n

Noussair Mazraoui<\/a> has looked like a true bargain since joining Manchester United in 2024 for a bargain price of \u00a313 million.<\/p>\n

Ruben Amorim\u2019s shift to a three-man defensive system has meant Mazraoui has often played as a centre-back more than right-back.<\/p>\n

Vote in our previous polls too\u2026 Who is the best Man Utd LEFT-BACK 2000-2025? Cast your vote \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f <\/p>\n

Help us pick our best XI\u2026<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Who is the best Man Utd goalkeeper 2000-2025? Cast your VOTE \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f <\/p>\n

Help us pick our best XI!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter <\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who is the best right-back to play for Manchester United over the past 25 years? Once the dominant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[195580,94,1676,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-639071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-best-of-the-21st-century","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-gary-neville","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115737394506438549","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}