Sir Alex Ferguson called the only English player as good as Cristiano Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as the greatest football manager who ever lived and is responsible for Manchester United's ten-year reign.

Arriving at Old Trafford in 1986 with a reputation built in Aberdeen, the Scotsman went on to define what it means to manage a top football club.

Over 26 odd years, he has given Manchester United 38 trophies – including 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League titles, five FA Cups and four League Cups – including the 1999 trophy that cemented his place in history.

To achieve all that, Ferguson needed top players, and he worked with the best in the world over three decades.

From the heroic leadership of Bryan Robson to the genius of Eric Cantona, the player who may have first made United believe they could win anything, Sir Alex has made a living by recruiting top talent while promoting a bigger than club mentality.

There was the telepathic rapport of Roy Keane and Ince in midfield, the natural brilliance of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke and the unstoppable power of Wayne Rooney.

Peter Schmeichel was arguably the greatest goalkeeper ever seen while Rio Ferdinand redefined the modern defender – the list goes on.

However, Ferguson himself believes that only four players he has coached at United can be considered 'world class'.

Another unsurprising Cristiano Ronaldo, while Cantona also made the list and Ryan Giggs was included having spent almost 30 years of his life at Old Trafford, but one England player made the cut.

Sir Alex Ferguson's special tribute to Paul Scholes

Indeed, speaking in his 2015 book, Ferguson named Paul Scholes as one of the four 'world class' players he coached at United.

Scholes is regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history and has spent his career earning Ferguson's approval with no-nonsense intelligence.

Two league titles became five, then ten, then eleven. He won the Champions League twice, lifted the FA Cup three times, and was still pulling the strings in United's midfield in his thirties. In total he played more than 700 games for the club he supported as a boy, scoring more than 150 goals – a remarkable return for a player whose job was to stay and control.

He does everything without sound. No moving abroad and chasing money, no manufactured headlines, no tabloid autobiography. Scholes just showed up, week in and week out, and he was better than everyone else on the pitch.

Zinedine called him the greatest midfielder of his generation. Xavi said he was the player he admired the most. But Fergie's praise may mean the most.