AI has predicted the all-time Manchester United XI and snubbed both David Beckham and Wayne Rooney

An AI has been used to name the best Manchester United XI of all time and snubbed the likes of Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.

Sir Alex Ferguson spent a glittering 26 years in charge of United and managed a plethora of world-class talent, including the likes of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane.

However, the legendary 81-year-old ex-United boss claimed that he only ever managed four world-class Red Devils players at Old Trafford before he retired from management in 2013.

And Ferguson once claimed it was an “absolutely impossible” task to name his best United team, although he added that only one player would be a “certainty” in his side.

Now, The Daily Mirror has now used the AI chatbot ChatGPT to see which United players from the Premier League club’s longstanding history would make an all-time XI.

No current United player made the all-time XI, but those who were selected played under Ferguson, part of the club’s legendary ‘Busby Babes’ and other iconic figures in history.

Peter Schmeichel, who lifted a historic treble with United in their 1998-99 season, took his place between the sticks ahead of Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea.

The United back four ahead of Schmeichel features a centre-back partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, with Gary Neville and Denis Irwin the full-backs selected.

Scholes and Keane are reunited in the midfield, with famed Busby Babes star Sir Bobby Charlton and United legend George Best securing their places in the attacking line-up.

United hero Cristiano Ronaldo also featured in the AI’s picks for the best Red Devils team of all time alongside fellow legendary club No 7 Eric Cantona.

However, United record appearance holder Giggs and all-time leading goalscorer Rooney failed to make the final cut, with the likes of Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy also missing out.

READ MORE:

• Sir Alex Ferguson offered Man United player £100k to retire from football
• Sir Alex Ferguson broke his own Man United transfer rule only once
• Sir Alex Ferguson’s hilarious answer to who he wants to win Premier League title race

Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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