With a host of player of the year awards, Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly United's star man.

But with Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Louis Saha playing major supporting roles at various points of the season, no-one could have complained about the entertainment value at Old Trafford.

United's approach under Sir Alex Ferguson was in marked contrast to the perceived safety-first tactics employed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Rafael Benitez at Liverpool.

"The Manchester United culture is to win by playing great, creative football," said Ferguson's assistant.

"It is about winning and entertaining. It has always been like that.

"Sometimes, with so much competition from all the other sports and things like TV, football needs to be innovative to keep the title of the best sporting entertainment.

"For some time now, the game has moved in one direction. The systems and strategies and the general way teams approached the game had become so defensive and cautious.

"That is why it was so important, not just for Manchester United but for the game as a whole, that we won the championship.

"We proved it is possible to win trophies with an attacking style of football."