The Debate: Who is United’s coolest player?

“I agree,” commented former Class of ’92 member Thornley. “Every time he went out, the collars were up and the chest was puffed out. It’s what he did on the field as well, it takes a special footballer to make people see what time he’s got. [Zinedine] Zidane and Scholesy were other ones. The game looked effortless to him and he always had this sort of forcefield around him so people couldn’t get close.

“Apart from Eric, I grew up with Becks as well and obviously his emergence after that goal he scored against Wimbledon in 1996, I think. You can probably say the way he conducted himself on the field and the way he looked, the things that he did, I think he’s got to be up there as well. He has that presence now, when he walks into a room, similar to Sir Alex and Eric Cantona. All eyes become transfixed on him for one reason or another so he’s definitely up there as one of the coolest.

“If you go further afield, I think [Gianluigi] Buffon and [Fabio] Cannavaro, the Italian players, quite a lot in recent history had this exuberance about them.”