Nottingham Forest’s Jesse Lingard left the Old Trafford pitch he’d walked on hundreds of times before. Substituted in the 53rd minute due to injury, the England attacking midfielder was given a fine ovation by the Manchester United fans he used to call his own. It was a touching display, and acknowledgment of all he gave to the club.
Yet, Lingard is not thought of as a United legend. Nor is he really a cult hero. This respectful response aside, you will not hear Lingard’s name being sung at any United games this season. Red Devils supporters still commemorate Eric Cantona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Roy Keane and Nemanja Vidic in terrace songs years after they’ve left. But precious few recent departures are commemorated in the same way.
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United’s rivals have all minted new legends in recent years. Kevin De Bruyne will figure prominently when the history of Manchester City is written. Liverpool’s formidable Sadio Mane-Roberto Firmino-Mohamed Salah axis will be as unified in the annals of time as they were on the pitch. N’Golo Kante has nudged his way in alongside John Terry and Frank Lampard in Chelsea’s iconography. But Manchester United haven’t crowned a new icon or cult hero in a number of years.
Juan Mata was treated like a legend as he bid farewell to the club last season. But despite his likeability and skill, the Spaniard was wasted too often in a right wing role that didn’t fit his skillset. Nemanja Matic had tenure, making 189 appearances. But the fact that so few of them were memorable works against him. Marouane Fellaini had the hair and the important goals of a cult hero, but his clumsy displays soured supporters on him.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic blew through Old Trafford like a hurricane, proving vital in securing United’s last two major trophies. But his dalliance with the Premier League was too brief. The same can be said of Edinson Cavani. A classy first season gave way to a stop-start second, when being usurped by Cristiano Ronaldo sapped his desire. As for the returning Portuguese forward, he eroded rather than enhanced his own status the second time around.
Ander Herrera recently made headlines for tearfully saying he wished he’d never left United. While he was a much-loved bulldog of a midfielder, his reputation took a hit when he left for more money at Paris Saint-Germain. Paul Pogba is a legend only in the eyes of his fans, who see the midfielder as a messianic figure who can do no wrong. To the matchday support he was too inconsistent and lacked effort.
Manchester United have not waved goodbye to a fully-canonised legend since Michael Carrick swapped the pitch for the dugout in 2018. The cultured midfielder won the lot with United and is rightly held up as a modern great. The previous year saw Wayne Rooney depart for Everton. The defining modern Manchester United player, he left with a wave of goodwill.
The same can’t be said for many since. Whether it’s Lingard who scored in three cup finals, Ibrahimovic who proved he could “do it in the Premier League” or Mata who made 285 appearances across nine years; not one could be considered an enduring part of United’s legacy.
So what of the current crop? Marcus Rashford ticks the box as a product of the youth system, but will need to maintain his current form to leave with more than the respectful applause Lingard received. Anthony Martial also has his parallels with Jesse, as a player still spoke about like a work in progress despite being 27 years old.
United’s best chance of appointing a new icon looks to be Casemiro. Across just 20 appearances, the Brazilian midfield mastermind has jostled his way into supporter’s hearts. A couple of seasons of performances like the ones he has put on so far will see him remembered forever on the Stretford End.
But for now, United are without a defining figure since Carrick’s departure. Perhaps that’s for the best. Manager Erik ten Hag is shaping this team in his image. That becomes harder when the love of the fans turns a player into an immovable object, unable to be dropped or reasoned with. After all, one of the biggest United icons of all time is Sir Alex Ferguson. Perhaps United need to go back to the era of the manager being the most revered man at the club.
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