I played against Messi and Ronaldo but forgotten Man United ace was my toughest opponent

 Ashley Young has claimed that Wes Brown was the toughest opponent he has ever faced.

The former Manchester United winger spent nine years at Old Trafford, winning numerous trophies including the Premier League and FA Cup. Young left United for Inter Milan in January 2020 where he went on to help the Italian club end a decade-long wait for a Serie A title in 2021.

Young was often used as a wing-back during his career and came up against some of the world’s best-attacking players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as well as some of Europe’s toughest defenders. But the 38-year-old is clear about who his most difficult opponent was.

“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.

“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.”

Brown spent 15 years at United, making over 200 appearances before leaving to join Sunderland in 2011. The former centre-back went on to play for Blackburn Rovers and Kerala Blasters in India but has not played professional football since 2018.