Manchester United always produce youth market and their academy has contributed tons of stars to their first-team squad. Here we can look at the best 10 products of the academy...
Ryan Giggs
It will take a truly superhuman effort to surpass Giggs's record of 963 appearances for United over a span of 13 years.
The Welsh wing wizard signed for United on his 14th birthday when Ferguson and club scout Joe Brown arrived at his house and offered schoolboy terms with the chance to turn professional inside three years.
He duly turned pro on his 17th birthday and made his first-team debut five months and six days later. The rest is history really.
George Best
It began when scout Bob Bishop sent Matt Busby a telegram reading: 'I think I've found you a genius.'
That was a 15-year-old George Best, running rings around his opponents in Belfast youth football. His first trial with United lasted just two days after Best became homesick, but he was persuaded back.
At 17, Best made his first division debut for United against West Bromwich Albion and would become one of the finest footballers the world has ever seen.
Bobby Charlton
United chief scout Joe Armstrong was responsible for spotting Charlton while playing for East Northumberland schools in February 1953.
Charlton's mother was reluctant to allow him to commit to a football career, so he began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer, but his talent meant he was never going to fail.
A member of the Busby Babes, Charlton made his United debut against Charlton Athletic in October 1956 and would become a club legend.
Paul Scholes
Scholes was already showing signs of the midfield maestro he would become when he was spotted playing for junior club Langley Furrow and started training with United aged 14.
Upon leaving school, he signed as a trainee. Scholes wasn't actually in the squad that won the 1992 FA Youth Cup but did reach the final the following season.
But he made his breakthrough into the first team during the 1994-95 season and went on to make 718 appearances for United, his one and only club.
Gary Neville
A stalwart at right-back for United for 15 years after joining the club as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1991.
Having captained his side to FA Youth Cup success, Neville made a senior debut for United against Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup in September 1992.
One of the Fergie Fledglings and later club captain, Neville was another one-club man having received his footballing education in the Old Trafford academy.
Duncan Edwards
United faced stiff competition from Wolves and Aston Villa, clubs closer to Edwards' home town of Dudley, to sign the talented youngster in the early 1950s.
He was already tied to United as an amateur, but securing him on professional terms required a late night visit to the Edwards household, either by Busby or coach Bert Whalley, on his 17th birthday in October 1953.
Like Charlton, he began an apprenticeship as a carpenter in case his football dreams weren't realised, but there was never any danger of that. We are only left to wonder what he might have achieved if not for the Munich Disaster.
Mark Hughes
Hailing from Wrexham, it was United's North Wales scout Hugh Roberts who spotted the talent of Hughes after he signed for the club after leaving school in the summer of 1980.
The striker's progress to the first team wasn't as rapid as some - it was another three years until his debut - but he quickly broke the strike partnership of Frank Stapleton and Norman Whiteside to win a regular place.
In his first spell at Old Trafford he scored 47 goals in 121 games, then returned to add another 116 in 352 matches after time with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Bill Foulkes
Centre-half Foulkes was playing for Whiston Boys Club when he was spotted by United as an 18-year-old.
He joined the club in March 1950, turning professional in August 1951 and duly made his United debut against Liverpool in December 1952.
In a sign of the age, Foulkes continued to work part-time in a coal mine, believing he wasn't good enough to play league football. After 688 appearances for United, that was well and truly dispelled.
Roger Byrne
Manchester-born Byrne was a full-back playing for the Ryder Brow Boys Club when he was recommended to United scout Joe Armstrong.
He proved to be a real gem and soon turned professional, becoming the first of the Busby Babes. Byrne was captain of United's successful teams of that decade and a versatile footballer on the field.
Byrne helped United to three league championships and was earmarked as a potential future England captain when he perished at Munich, aged 28.
Norman Whiteside
Having discovered Best and Sammy McIlroy, finding Whiteside was another coup for United's Northern Ireland scout Bob Bishop, who was 80 by this time.
He was offered a trial at Old Trafford, the process helped by the fact his parents were United supporters.
Whiteside discovered he had been offered schoolboy terms by United during a school trip to the United States, during which he and classmates met President Jimmy Carter at the Oval Office.
