20 Years Later: Why Man United's Treble-Winning Season Will Never Be Bettered

Sir Alex Ferguson made some brilliant forays in the transfer market throughout his twenty seven year tenure at United, with his casual enquiry about Eric Cantona following a Leeds approach for Denis Irwin and his gamble on Cristiano Ronaldo after seeing him in one friendly amongst his many highlights.

He also had his fair share of clunkers – the likes of David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson being names he’d inevitably like to forget. His shrewdest ever move was surely the acquisition of Danish shot-stopper Peter Schmeichel for £505,000 in 1991, something he’d later describe as the ‘bargain of the century’.

Early on in the 98/99 season, Schmeichel announced he’d be leaving the club after eight years between the sticks, agreeing a move to the Portuguese league (citing its less congested fixture schedule as the reason) to ostensibly wind up his career.

He’d eventually return to England less than two years later, spending a season apiece at Aston Villa and Manchester City, but the accomplishment of the Treble was the perfect fairytale ending for perhaps the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper (a title only Alex Stepney could really rival him for).

To top it off, he was able to captain the team in his final ever game, the Champions League final. All seemed lost when the ‘Great Dane’ went forward for the corner that resulted in Teddy Sheringham’s equalising goal, but less than two minutes later he was cartwheeling across the pitch and preparing to lift Europe’s premier footballing trophy.