Iker Casillas
Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Nemanja Vidic, Dani Alves
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi.

“Vidic for Manchester United is like Messi for Barcelona. How could you take him?” he said. “He’s the United captain and a key player for Sir Alex Ferguson. A move next summer is absolutely not an option. The player is only thinking of recovering as soon as possible from his ugly knee injury.”

This is absolutely devastating news for the club, given the massive difference he makes to our defensive performances.

“We thought it was a bad one,” said Ferguson. “He’s out for the season. It’s not unexpected but it’s still bad news. He’ll see a specialist on Monday to work out the progress of when he has the operation. It won’t be immediate as we have to let the swelling come down.”

“It seems inappropriate to talk about that, because unfortunately he has suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament.”

In response to a follow-up question asking if the player would be out for several months, the agent said: “Unfortunately so, yes.”

“I am not a number 10, I know that,” said Vidic. “I am defender and I have to stop the other team from scoring the goal. If I play well but make one mistake, than all anyone remembers is the goal I conceded. So I have to be fully focused. I am a defender. I like to defend, it’s what I do and what I’m best at. I tackle, I tackle, I tackle. This is what a defender does – this is how I developed my whole career, and this is what the manager wants from me. I play strong, yes. I am not a dirty player and I’m not a killer, as the fans sing. I don’t want to hurt or injure anyone. I just want to win. I have to win, so I do what I have to do.”

Midway through November last season Chelsea were 4 points clear of United but we still went on to finish 9 points ahead of them. Vidic reckons that we will continue to focus on ourselves and come good like we did last year.

“There is a long way to go,” said Vidic. “We have not reached the stage where there are six games left and they are five points in front and we have to think about what we have to do. It is a long season, we still have to play them again and they have to play the top four or five teams. There is a long way to go. Last year at the start Chelsea were playing unbelievable football. But in 10 months you are not going to play great football all that time. There will be good days and bad days. It is important to think game by game. That is the great thing about the players at this club, we are always looking to improve ourselves and never think so much about other teams and I think this is the key to improve, it is the key to playing well.”

There were strong rumours that Vidic was going to leave in the summer of 2010, which his agent repeatedly denied, before the player went on to sign a new four year deal.

The Daily Mail claimed that Vidic wasn’t looking for a move, rather the manager was prepared to sell the player to Real Madrid next summer if the price was right.

It was rumoured that Vidic and Sir Alex Ferguson had fallen out over the player’s decision to play for Serbia against the club’s wishes. However, now Vidic has retired from International football, there is the suggestion that the two have made peace.

“There is no news. The move is not possible,” Paolo Fabbri told The International Business Times. “Vidic has no will and has made no request to leave Manchester United.”

Now that we’ve had a few days to digest our implosion against Manchester City, the only thing to do now is move on. It’s confined to the history books, forget it. Nothing can be changed now. The only thing that can be done is correcting it in the future. Starting on Saturday when we kick-off at noon away to Everton.

Darren Fletcher has enjoyed scoring against Everton in the past

Although the hurt of the humiliating defeat will take an age to go away, the bright side ensures we’ve plenty of football to keep ourselves occupied in the immediate future. Despite us struggling at Goodison Park in recent seasons, particularly last season when we inexplicably gave up a two-goal lead in injury-time, some things are finally falling our way.

The comeback of Tom Cleverley against Aldershot in the Carling Cup is a massive boost to the entire squad but especially in midfield as we have lacked cohesion and confidence during his absence. Nemanja Vidic’s return from injury is also well-timed as the Serb hopes to help our recently leaky defence.

However, equally as important will be the shape which Everton are heading into Saturday’s encounter with. After their heart-breaking extra-time loss to Chelsea, David Moyes’ charges will be fatigued after their lengthy excursions. Also, having lost four of their last five matchss, they can hardly be highy confident facing the prospect of a wounded animal in the form of the champions of England looking to bounce back from the mother of all losses.

In recent season, we have seldom picked up three points from the Blue half of Merseyside. But that could and should be about to change on Saturday as the return of key players, coupled with our opponents dire recent form bodes well and a win is well within our reach is we approach the match professionally.

On their return from Goodison Park, United is going to host Otelul Galati for some Champions League action, watch Clarence Seedorf, Gianluigi Buffon, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Viera recreate some of the historic moments of the competition:

This message was brought to you by Heineken, sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, but it contains our writer’s opinion.

“After a great deal of thought and with a heavy heart, I have decided the time is right for me to retire from international football,” Vidic told the official site. “I feel, after 10 years of playing for my country, it is the right time for me to stand aside and allow the younger players to come through. I would like to thank all the managers, coaches and players I have played alongside. I have always been very proud to play for Serbia and would like to wish them well in future tournaments.”

Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have all played their part in defence since, but after playing 90 minutes for Serbia this week, Sir Alex Ferguson is wondering whether Vidic is ready to start against Liverpool tomorrow.

“The big question mark is whether Vidic is ready,” he said. “He has his first game for Serbia on Tuesday. It’s certainly a consideration because he’s such a great competitor. He came in yesterday and felt OK. But the Liverpool game is such an intense, stamina-draining game that you want everyone to be 100 per cent so it might be more down to how he feels himself. Jonny Evans’ form has been absolutely brilliant so I don’t have any real concerns about who I play because they’re all playing particularly well.”