Top five overseas players with most goals for Manchester United

Two Frenchman make the cut among the top five overseas poachers

Welcome to the world of Manchester United's goal-scoring prowess, where overseas talents have left an indelible mark on the club's illustrious history. From iconic Frenchmen to prolific Portuguese, these legends have graced the hallowed grounds of Old Trafford and etched their names in football folklore. Heralded as one of the greatest athletes ever, Cristiano Ronaldo's electrifying goalscoring exploits in two United spells are also recounted.

In this captivating exploration, we have a look at the stars that lit up the Theatre of Dreams scoring most goals while they were here from overseas.

5. Eric Cantona (France) - 82 goals

Born in Marseille, France, Eric Cantona first tasted the Premier League with Leeds United. In February 1992, Nîmes Olympique accepted a €1.50 million transfer fee from The Peacocks of England. Cantona arrived having scored 50 goals and a few more in Ligue 1 across several clubs. In his nine-month stay at Leeds, he was able to score 14 goals and made 5 assists.

The Red Devils then eagerly paid €1.80 million transfer fee to snatch away the prized asset from the West Yorkshire-based outfit in just November 1992. The Frenchman made Old Trafford his home scoring 82 goals for the club, before hanging up his boots in May 1997.

4. Anthony Martial (France) - 88 goals

There was a time when Manchester United were struggling in the striker position. With only Wayne Rooney at the helm and a makeshift striker in the form of Marouane Fellaini wasn't enough. Anthony Martial was brought in to future-proof the position. United reportedly paid up to £58 million including add ons to acquire the French striker from AS Monaco. And since 2015, Martial has been able to put away 88 goals for the Red Devils.

But his stay has been mostly curtailed with inconsistency and injuries throughout. And as the summer transfer window is now open, it is reported, United is willing to offload Martial. Erik ten Hag seems no longer interested in keeping the 27-year-old who gets a paycheck of reportedly £250,000 per week.

3. Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Norway) - 126 goals

Ole Gunnar Solskjær was recently handling the managerial job at Old Trafford. Initially served as a caretaker boss from December 2018 to March of next year. The results were in favour of the Norwegian who rewarded him with a permanent role. Solskjær orchestrated 149 games in his new role, which sadly saw his PPM(points per match) drop from 2.32 to 1.79. This saw him getting axed on 21 November 2021. Although he is yet to be seen working as a manager thereafter, he did have a very successful 11-year stint with the Red Devils as a player.

Back in July 1996, United paid €2.50m to lure away Ole Gunnar Solskjær from Molde FK. Molde is a club that features in the Eliteserien first-tier league of Norway. Before hanging up his boot in August 2007, the Norwegian overseas player recorded 366 official games. His goal tally of 126 goals still puts him as the third most goal-scoring overseas player for the Reds of Manchester.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 145 goals

The Portuguese international may have exploded the world football stage with his aura and football, but it was Manchester United who initially gave him the big break. While Cristiano Ronaldo was a teenager at the Portuguese club Sporting CP, they had a friendly game against Man United at the newly opened Jose Alvalade stadium. Ronaldo tore apart the full-backs with his skill and trickery, which made even the United players literally Sir Alex Ferguson sign him as soon as possible.

Rest is history. The five-time Ballon d'Or holder from Madeira, Portugal has amassed 145 goals in his two stints with United. Now we see the 38-year-old captain of the Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

1. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) - 150 goals

From July 1998 to 2001, the Netherlands forward was impressing world football with PSV Eindhoven. He put away 77 goals in a remarkable span of just 90 games. Man United paid £19 million in transfer fee to PSV. This broke the then-British transfer record of £18m that Leeds United paid West Ham to recruit Rio Ferdinand.

The Dutch hitman spearheaded United's front line from 2001 to 2006 scoring 150 goals. Ruud van Nistelrooy still seats five goals above former teammate Ronaldo and at the peak of the highest goals scored by any overseas player. Had Ronaldo completed the season in which he departed mid-way via mutual contract termination during his second stint, the record might have been shattered. But as things stand, the record has remained intact since 2006 and Van Nistelrooy leads the list currently.