After establishing himself at Red Star Belgrade during the early 2000s, Vidic moved to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2004. He further increased his reputation when he was part of the “Famous Four” Serbian national team defence that conceded just one goal during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He would later sign for Manchester United for around £7m in January 2006 before establishing a prominent defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand the following season.

Now widely regarded as one of the finest centre-backs in Europe,he has collected a host of honours in his short United career including 3 consecutive Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup, two League Cup medals, as well as being included in three consecutive PFA Team of the Year sides from 2007 – 2009. In the most recent season, he help United to a record-breaking run of 14 consecutive clean sheets and was awarded the Barclays Player of the Season award.

Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in English football history. On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in every single season of the Premier League since its inception.

Giggs has had a long-lasting domestic and continental career and is the first player in UEFA Champions League history to have scored in 12 successive seasons, on top of being elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the English Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs is also the only United player to have played in all 11 Premier League winning teams and all three League Cup winning teams. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club’s all-time leader in appearances.

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country. As well as the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends, he was appointed an OBE in the Queen’s 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football…

Rooney began his career with Everton, joining their youth team at age ten and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut in 2002 and his first goal made him the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time. He quickly became part of Everton’s first team, spending two seasons at the Merseyside club. Before the start of the 2004–05 season he moved to Manchester United for £25.6 million and became a key member of the first team. Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and also the Football League Cup.

Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and at Euro 2004 he briefly became the competition’s youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured in the 2006 World Cup.

Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. Briefly manager of the Scotland national team – in a temporary capacity owing to the death of Jock Stein – he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986.

With 22 years as manager of Manchester United, he is the second-longest serving manager in their history after Sir Matt Busby, while his tenure is the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. Manchester United have won more honours during Ferguson’s tenure than they did in all the years combined prior to his appointment. At Manchester United, Sir Alex has become the most successful domestic manager in the history of English football, having guided the team to eleven league championships and two Champions League titles. In 1999, he became the first manager to lead an English team to the treble of league championship, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. As well as being the only manager to win the FA Cup five times, he is also the only manager ever to win three successive league championships in the top flight in England with the same club (1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01), repeating the feat again in 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09. In 2008, he joined Brian Clough (Nottingham Forest) and Bob Paisley (Liverpool) as only the third British manager to win the European Cup on more than one occasion.

He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame for his services to the English game, was knighted in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II and currently holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen for his services to the city, having managed the city’s football club to a host of major trophies in the early to mid 1980s.

Manchester United are the reigning English champions and Club World Cup holders, having won the 2008–09 Premier League and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. The club is one of the most successful in the history of English football and has won 22 major honours since Alex Ferguson became manager in November 1986. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1. They won a second European Cup as part of a Treble in 1999, before winning their third in 2008. The club holds the joint record for the most English league titles with 18 and also holds the record for the most FA Cup wins with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club,  and is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in any sport, with an estimated value of around £1.136 billion (€1.319 billion / $1.870 billion) as of April 2009. Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe’s leading football clubs, and its replacement, the European Club Association.