Man Utd 07/08 — PL & CL Double: Full Squad & Ratings

Man Utd 2007/08 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.

Man Utd 2007/08 — Season Story

Manchester United's 2007/08 season produced the greatest individual campaign in Premier League history and a double to match: Cristiano Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions — 31 in the league — and won the Ballon d'Or, while United lifted the Premier League and Champions League double, beating Chelsea on penalties in the Moscow rain.

The title race was the best of the decade. United and Chelsea swapped the lead all spring, and it came down to the final day: United won at Wigan 2-0, with Ronaldo scoring the opener, to finish two points clear. The defence was the foundation — Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic formed the best centre-back pairing in Europe, conceding just 22 league goals.

The Champions League final in Moscow was a classic: Ronaldo headed United ahead, Frank Lampard equalised, and the game went to penalties in a thunderstorm. Ronaldo missed his spot kick, John Terry slipped on the sodden turf and hit the post with the kick that would have won it, and Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's sudden-death effort to give United the trophy. It was the first all-English European Cup final in history.

The squad was Ferguson's most complete: Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez completed a fluid front three with Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick controlled midfield, and the full-backs — Patrice Evra and Wes Brown — pushed forward constantly. The 2007/08 squad is rated 83.4 OVR in the 38-0 dataset, and its star, Ronaldo at 93, is one of the two highest-rated players in the entire pool.

Ronaldo's 42-Goal Season

Ronaldo's transformation from talented winger to unstoppable force began in this season. Playing from the right wing but given complete freedom, he scored 31 league goals — the most by a midfielder in Premier League history — including a run of eight goals in four games in January and February. His hat-trick at home to Newcastle in January, capped by a 40-yard free kick, was the performance of the season.

The numbers were absurd: 42 goals in 49 appearances, a Champions League final goal, and the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards both won before his 24th birthday. Defenders knew what he was going to do — cut inside and shoot, or go outside and cross — and still could not stop him. In 38-0 he is rated 93 OVR, the joint-highest player in the pool alongside Erling Haaland.

The Defence: Ferdinand and Vidic

The attacking fireworks obscured the real foundation of the double: the meanest defence in Europe. Rio Ferdinand, elegant and almost never beaten for pace, and Nemanja Vidic, ferocious in the air and last-ditch tackles, formed a partnership that conceded just 22 league goals and kept 20 clean sheets in all competitions.

Behind them Edwin van der Sar, in his third season, was the calmest goalkeeper in the league; in front of them Michael Carrick quietly controlled games. The Moscow final was the perfect showcase — Chelsea's attack, containing Drogba, Anelka and Joe Cole, created almost nothing from open play, and the decisive moment came from the penalty spot.

The Moscow Rain

The first all-English Champions League final was played in a thunderstorm. Ronaldo's first-half header from Wes Brown's cross gave United the lead; Lampard equalised just before half-time after a deflection; and the second half produced endless chances but no more goals. Extra time brought Drogba's red card for slapping Nemanja Vidic — and the penalty shootout in the rain.

The shootout had everything: Ronaldo's miss, Terry's slip on the turf as he took the kick that would have won it — the post, the surface, the moment — and then sudden death. Van der Sar, having dived the right way for every kick, guessed correctly for Anelka's and saved. United had their third European Cup, and Ferguson had his second — in the rain, on penalties, in the most dramatic final of the modern era.

Key Players & Ratings

Cristiano Ronaldo (93 OVR) is the joint-highest-rated player in the entire 38-0 pool. Rio Ferdinand (89) and Wayne Rooney (88) are the next tier, with Edwin van der Sar (87), Nemanja Vidic (87) and Carlos Tevez (86) completing a world-class core. Paul Scholes (85), Michael Carrick (84) and Patrice Evra (84) provide the depth.

The squad average of 83.4 OVR is the second-highest of any United side in the dataset, and the balance is exceptional: elite goalkeeper, elite defenders, elite midfield, elite attack. This is one of the most complete squads in the entire draft.

Full 18-Man Squad

Best XI — Man Utd 2007/08

The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:

• GK Edwin van der Sar 87 OVR
• RCB Rio Ferdinand 89 OVR
• LCB Nemanja Vidić 87 OVR
• LB Patrice Evra 84 OVR
• CDM Owen Hargreaves 82 OVR
• CM Paul Scholes 85 OVR
• CM Michael Carrick 84 OVR
• LM Ryan Giggs 83 OVR
• RW Cristiano Ronaldo 93 OVR
• ST Wayne Rooney 88 OVR
• CF Carlos Tevez 86 OVR

Drafting This Squad in 38-0

If the slot machine lands here, Ronaldo is the automatic first choice — a 93-rated right winger is the single most valuable attacking pick in the game. If you already have a world-class winger, Ferdinand solves the centre-back position, van der Sar the goalkeeper, and Rooney or Tevez the striker role.

In Legend mode the hierarchy is unforgettable precisely because it is so top-heavy: Ronaldo (93), Ferdinand (89), Rooney (88), van der Sar and Vidic (87), Tevez (86). Below that, the supporting cast is solid rather than spectacular — so take a top-six name and this landing is a success.

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