Who we’d love to see play all the big names in the new Man Utd drama | OneFootball

Manchester United have agreed a deal with Lionsgate to have a drama made about the club, likely to span multiple generations within Old Trafford.

The dramatised retelling of the club’s history is therefore likely to feature a host of characters representing some of the biggest names to step foot inside the club – said to be in a similar style to The Crown, which has six seasons chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

While it’s not known exactly which eras are going to be portrayed on screen, it’s not hard to have a good guess at who might feature.

As such, we’re excited to look into who we’d love to see play some of the biggest names in United’s storied history.

Sir Matt Busby – Alistair Petrie

Given he served 25 years at United, there’s a good chance Busby might be in the series at different ages, and therefore is likely to have different actors playing him.

One of the most pivotal moments of his time in charge was the Munich air disaster, when Busby was around 50.

It feels likely that will be included in the series, and 55-year-old British actor Michael Petrie would be a pretty faithful account of Busby, who’s been played on screen by multiple actors in the past.

Sir Alex Ferguson – Paul Riley

BAFTA award-winning actor Riley facially resembles Sir Alex in the latter part of his managerial career, and has the added bonus of being Scottish.

A slightly longer haircut and he’d make for an accurate portrayal, though it could be questioned whether a comedic actor would be able to match the steely demeanour of Sir Alex.

With his United career spanning nearly 27 years, it’s likely there’ll be a younger version, too. Wonder if either of them would boycott the BBC?

George Best – Paul Mescal

If Mescal can accurately portray a Beatle – Sir Paul McCartney – in upcoming biopics about the band, then he’s not a million miles away from Best already.

A longer hairstyle and a beard and it’s a pretty accurate representation, and the accent might not need too much work, with Mescal being Irish, and from just a couple hours south – Maynooth – of where Best was born, in Belfast.

Roy Keane – Eeanna Hardwicke

Keane is already the subject of a retelling of a famous footballing story – the falling out between himself and then-Ireland manager Mick McCarthy ahead of the 2002 World Cup, leading to Keane leaving the squad and not playing in the tournament.

The actor who plays Keane, Hardwicke, has earned top reviews for his performance in Saipan, being referred to as ‘utterly magnetic’ in one review. It might even enter our top 10 football films.

With a spot-on interpretation of Keane already nailed, Hardwicke stepping back into the role would make a lot of sense.

David Beckham – Tom Glynn-Carney

With so many different personas on the field, it might be hard to find one perfect match for him. He switched between long hair, mohawk, mullet and buzz cut throughout his career, to name just a few hairstyles.

House of the Dragon actor Glynn-Carney certainly has a bit of Beckham swagger about him, having regularly sported earrings, and he’s the owner of a Beckham-like jawline.

At 30 years of age, the British actor is not much older than the playmaker was when he left United in 2003, four years after he should’ve won the Ballon d’Or.

And his look in House of the Dragon suggests he could faithfully imitate the United legend through different years of his career.

Wayne Rooney – Jack McMullen

A British actor who has played a footballer before, can style a buzzcut as well as a longer haircut, and whose age appears different whether or not he has a beard, could be the perfect man to play Rooney, who developed from a youngster into a man at United.

McMullen is facially similar to Rooney, and he seems to naturally have a similar sort of expression to the former United star, as well as being from Liverpool, meaning his accent is perfect already.

Bobby Charlton – Sam Spruell

This one is going to take some explaining. Yes, Spruell is 49 years old and he’d be in a cast among people around 20 years younger than him.

However, Charlton had distinctive features, such as his nose, smile lines around the mouth and eyes, which looked very similar to Spruell’s.

What’s more, Charlton literally appeared 50 years old when he was around 25 and began balding during his playing career, so a 49-year-old playing him genuinely doesn’t feel beyond the realms if possibility.