Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been nominated for UEFA's European Player of the Year Award.
Last year's Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Chelsea's Frank Lampard will all be leading contenders for the award. Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol are also in contention.
Nemanja Vidic admits both he and Patrice Evra wanted to quit Manchester United just weeks into their Old Trafford careers.
"We speak about it quite often," said Vidic.
"Neither of us started well and we used to say we wanted to leave. We can laugh about it now because we have both reached 100 games.
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the 1-1 home draw to Newcastle was a fair result.
The Reds were missing eight established first-team players for various reasons but Ferguson refused to use that as an excuse.
Nemanja Vidic believes Manchester United are ready to hit the ground running after lifting the Community Shield.
The Premier League champions kick off their title defence against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Sunday and the Serbia defender wants a better start than last season when they had to settle for an opening day draw with Reading.
Manchester United's old guard continue to set the example for the rest of the squad, claims Nemanja Vidic.
"I hope the Community Shield won't be the last trophy we win this season," said Vidic.
"We've worked hard in pre-season and I've seen the hunger in the players' eyes. We are ready to win more trophies because there exists a winning mentality at United.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson rates Rio Ferdinand as the best defender in the world.
Ferguson said: "Rio has been the best defender in the country if not Europe for a couple of years. His maturity and leadership have been key factors in the team's success.
"He is someone that young players learn from and that more experienced players respect.
Its your chance to write the news!
At euro2008blog.com you can give the world your opinions on what exactly needs to be done with the team you support!
Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Portugal remain the favourites, and the whole world willbe waxing lyrical about the goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres, so sign up and give them your view!
Head to www.euro2008blog.com
Nemanja Vidic has urged Manchester United fans to create a new song for him.
Vidic said: "If the fans sing your name then you should be happy, but the song they sing about me at the moment has some very strong words.
"It mentions killing people and maybe that is because of the country I am from and what happened there in the past.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is the latest big name to accuse Chelsea striker Didier Drogba of diving.
Ahead of Wednesday's Champions League final, Vidic declared: "Sometimes he [Drogba] goes in very strong and sometimes he pretends he is weak. He plays with your mind and tries to make the defender think about the next tackle.
Nemanja Vidic will be fit for Manchester United's title decider at Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
The Serbia defender missed Saturday's 4-1 demolition of West Ham and the European win over Barcelona 10 days ago because of concussion caused by Didier Drogba's knee in his face at Stamford Bridge.