Former Man Utd star names Wes Brown as ‘toughest opponent’ ahead of Messi and Ronaldo



Former Manchester United star Ashley Young has named Wes Brown as the shock pick for the ‘toughest opponent’ he’s faced during his career.

Turning 39 next month, Young is still going strong after spending the 2023/24 campaign with Everton, making 34 appearances across all competitions for the Toffees, who have offered him a one-year extension.

Young’s lengthy career has seen him win multiple major honours with Manchester United — including the Premier League and Europa League — and reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals with England.

During that time, he’s faced the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Andrea Pirlo to name but a few formidable opponents.

Young makes shock ‘toughest opponent’ pick

Despite the illustrious list of names Young has tested himself against, it’s former Manchester United defender Wes Brown he’s picked as his ‘toughest opponent’.

Brown spent 14 years as a Man Utd player between 1997 and 2011, winning five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 13: Ashley Young of Aston Villa is bought down by Wes Brown of Manchester United for a penalty during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Villa Park on November 13, 2010 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

However, he left for Sunderland after never fully establishing himself as a regular starter — with the 23-time England international playing more than 28 Premier League games in a single season just once for the Red Devils.

Even so, Young does not look back fondly on his battles with the Longsight-born defender.

“It would be someone that people have forgotten about,” Young told talkSPORT. “When I was a winger, I’ve always said the toughest opponent I’ve come up against is Wes Brown.”

Young added: “You know when you talk about going past someone and getting change out of them? I got nothing out of him. Never able to get past him. Just nothing.

“When I’ve gone further back and played as a full-back or a wing-back, I’ve played against plenty of different wingers.

“But for me, in my head, I’m a winger myself, so the toughest opponents have been defenders. And the toughest was Wes Brown.”