10 Hardest Men That Ever Played For Man Utd

5. Jaap Stam

Jaap Stam was a tough guy, and he knew it. Once, in an interview, when asked if he was a hard man, his answer was honest and to the point:

€œA player recently came at me with a head-butt, so I grabbed him and put him in a head-lock€ he looked a bit blue when I let him go.€

Stam's United career was brief but he packed a lot into it, winning three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League in his three year spell, and it's definitely not a coincidence that in each of those three seasons at Old Trafford we were English champions when he was in the side.

The Dutchman's importance to the side was such that veteran BBC football commentator Mike Ingham once famously said: €œWithout Jaap Stam, Sir Alex would still be Alex.€

At 6'3" Stam was a tough, rough around the edges centre-back who packed surprising bursts of speed and was renowned for his sometimes precision-perfect interception skills and tackling.

The reason however for his time at United being so brief was due to him being one of only a handful of players to dare cross Sir Alex Ferguson, by making allegations in his autobiography Head to Head about Ferguson and the club.

As a result Stam was controversially sold to Lazio, but has the rare distinction in that he was also one of only a few players Ferguson has admitted regretting letting go.