Wes Brown snubs Ruud van Nistelrooy for Man Utd player closely linked to iconic Vodafone shirt, his pick is ‘really weird’

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Wes Brown picked out one former Manchester United player who reminds him the most of the famed Vodafone shirt ahead of Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Vodafone were Manchester United’s major shirt sponsor for multiple seasons in the 2000s after the Red Devils ended their association with Sharp Electronics.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s entire run as a United player happened during the Vodafone shirt sponsorship for the Red Devils and the Dutchman is often linked to the top.

The 48-year-old United legend had a prolific playing spell at Old Trafford after former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed him for the Red Devils in 2001.

United broke the British record transfer fee at the time to land Van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven after a failed medical in 2000 scuppered his initial move to the club.

During his time under Sir Alex Ferguson, former Red Devils assistant manager Van Nistelrooy lifted a Premier League title, an FA Cup and a League Cup with United.

Van Nistelrooy is widely regarded as one of the best Premier League strikers of all time and he netted an impressive 150 times in 219 matches for the Red Devils.

READ MORE: Ruud van Nistelrooy became ‘mentor’ for Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd signing, he did ‘something’ that blew ex-teammate away

Wes Brown was torn between two former Man Utd teammates for his Vodafone shirt pick over Ruud van Nistelrooy

Speaking to The Soccer Archive, Wes Brown was shown a series of different Manchester United shirts and was asked to name the first player that came to mind.

Wes Brown lifted United’s iconic treble under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford and the former Red Devils defender enjoyed a successful playing spell at the club.

During his time at United, the 45-year-old former defender captured five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, two FA Cups and two League Cups.

When the iconic Vodafone-sponsored United shirt came up, Brown didn’t name Ruud van Nistelrooy and was torn between Eric Djemba-Djemba and Jose Kleberson.

“Do you know what’s really weird? I’m gonna say [Eric] Djemba-Djemba,” he said in The Soccer Archive’s TikTok clip.

“Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, I’m gonna say Djemba. He played quite a lot in that shirt.

“They used to call him ‘Cantona,’ didn’t they? But yeah, I’m gonna go Djemba-Djemba with that one.”

READ MORE: Sir Alex Ferguson’s world-class Man Utd legend was ‘ridiculous,’ Giuseppe Rossi in awe at his handling of ‘high-risk’ situations

Sir Alex Ferguson missed the mark big time with Man Utd signing both Eric Djemba-Djemba and Jose Kleberson

United paid French club Nantes £3.5m for Eric Djemba-Djemba in 2003 and the former Cameroon international turned out to be a flop signing for Ferguson.

Djemba-Djemba only managed 39 United first-team appearances before the Red Devils offloaded him to Aston Villa for a reported fee of £1.5m in 2005.

Jose Kleberson, much like Djemba-Djemba, endured an ill-fated spell at Old Trafford after United signed him from Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense in 2003.

The 45-year-old Brazilian former midfielder only managed 30 appearances for the Red Devils before Ferguson allowed United to sell him to Besiktas in 2005.