- A team of Man United legends took on a World XI in Dubai this weekend
- The United squad included three Leicester Premier League winners
- It’s the world against Everton – it could encourage the players to stay up – IAKO
A collection of Manchester United legends gathered for a dressing room photo in Dubai as they took part in an 11-goal thriller against a World XI on Saturday.
The match opened the inaugural Legends Football League and did not disappoint as a spectacle, with United ultimately losing 8–3.
But that couldn’t wipe the smiles off the faces of their former stars, who helped make Sir Alex Ferguson’s side the dominant force in English football.
Patrice Evra, who scored, and Dwight Yorke started for the Red Devils, while Antonio Valencia, Juan Sebastian Veron and Eric Djemba-Djemba were also involved.
Valencia only left Old Trafford four years ago but looked almost unrecognizable as he posed for a quirky photo with Veron.
1. Eric Djemba-Djemba 2. Mikael Silvestre 3. Wes Morgan 4. Dimitar Berbatov 5. Nathan Dyer 6. Wes Brown 7. Dwight Yorke 8. Julio Cesar 9. Danny Simpson 10. Antonio Valencia 11. Patrice Evra 12. Jesper Blomqvist 13. Juan Sebastian Veron
Valencia looked almost unrecognizable as he posed for a photo with Veron
The collection of United legends also posed for a photo on the pitch ahead of the match
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Defensive duo Wes Brown and Mikael Silvestre were also in attendance, with the former captaining the team while Dimitar Berbatov led the way – and got on the scoresheet.
One of United’s heroes from their famous 1999 Champions League final win, Jesper Blomqvist, was also there to enjoy the experience.
That night at Camp Nou turned out to be his last game for United, but he is still fondly remembered by Manchester’s red side.
Meanwhile, Danny Simpson, who made just eight senior appearances for the club before winning the Premier League with Leicester, was in the starting line-up.
The Legends Football League allows “impact players,” meaning a current player or celebrity can play in matches.
United took advantage of this by including Simpson’s former Leicester teammate Wes Morgan, who famously captained the Foxes to the title in 2016, in their squad.
Fellow Premier League champion Nathan Dyer then came off the bench for the Red Devils.
And United’s starting line-up was supplemented by a championship-winning goalkeeper in the form of Julio Cesar. The Brazilian shot-stopper lifted the trophy at Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in 2010 before moving to QPR two years later.
Wes Morgan (left) and Danny Simpson (right) won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016
If you look at the team, it’s an impressive squad of legendary players, but the World XI itself brought out some big stars.
Clarence Seedorf, five-time Champions League winner and perhaps one of the most underrated players of his generation, took home the man of the match award.
Robert Pires, Rivaldo and Michel Salgado also starred.
After kicking off in Dubai, the Legends Football League will spread across the world and resume in India in January.