Manchester United's top 5 underrated players in the Premier League era

Park Ji-Sung (left) and Michael Carrick of Manchester United.
Park Ji-Sung (left) and Michael Carrick of Manchester United.

#3 Ole Gunnar Solksjaer

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer celebrating scoring a goal for Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer celebrating scoring a goal for Manchester United

Former Manchester United player and manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was born in Norway in 1973. He came through the ranks at Clausenengen, and made his senior debut for the club in 1990. He played for Molde for a brief period before joining Manchester United in 1996. He enjoyed the most trophy-laden spell of his career with the Red Devils.

Solksjaer was one of the most lethal strikers in his native Norway. For his first club Clausenengen, Solksjaer scored 115 goals in just 109 games, helping earn them promotion to the Norwegian Second Division in 1993. He played 369 games for Manchester United, scoring 126 goals and providing 52 assists.

The Norwegian scored one of the most important goals in Manchester United's history. He netted a last-gasp winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final to confirm United's continental treble.

You can watch the highlights from that game here:

Solskjaer won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and one UEFA Champions League with Manchester United as a player. He also managed his beloved United side between 2018 and 2021, helping them finish runner-up in the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League.

He was stripped of managerial position in November 2021 after a string of poor results. Solskjaer is currently without a job.


#2 Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick in action in a game for Manchester United
Michael Carrick in action in a game for Manchester United

Michael Carrick was born in Wallsend, England, in 1981. He came through the youth ranks at West Ham United, and made his senior debut for the club in 1999. Carrick later represented Tottenham Hotspur for a while before moving to Manchester United in 2006. It was at United where he established himself as a top-class midfielder and leader.

Carrick mostly played as a deep-lying midfielder who pulled the strings for United in attack. He did not rely on physical abilities, such as pace, stamina or strength, but used his tactical awareness and positional play to his advantage. His playmaking abilities and distribution are compared with top midfielders across Europe.

The Englishman made 464 appearances for United, scoring 24 goals and assisting 37. He won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League title with Manchester United. He recently left the club after 15 years of service to the club as a player, coach and caretaker manager.

Carrick also made 34 appearances for England in his illustrious career. He retired from the sport as a player in 2018.


#1 Park Ji-sung

Park Ji-sung is one Manchester United player the streets will never forget.
Park Ji-sung is one Manchester United player the streets will never forget.

Park Ji-sung was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1981. He played for his school and college teams before making his professional debut with the Kyoto Purple Sanga in 2000. Park enjoyed a successful career in Europe with PSV Eindhoven, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United.

The South Korean played 204 games for the Red Devils, mainly coming off the bench. He scored 28 goals and provided 29 assists during his spell in Manchester.

Park was well known for his off-the-ball movement, wor -rate, boundless energy and ability to pop up in the right place at the right time. He was also nicknamed 'Three-Lungs Park' for his incredible stamina.

He played in various roles in midfield, including attacking midfielder, wide midfielder and second striker. He proved to be one of the Premier League's most astute purchases of all time.

Park won four Premier League titles, one FIFA Club World Cup and one Champions League with Manchester United.

He also made 100 appearances for South Korea, scoring 13 goals. He was part of the team that remarkably finished fourth at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Park retired in 2014 following a second spell with PSV Eindhoven. He is currently involved with QPR's U-16 team as a coach.

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Edited by Bhargav
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