Nemanja Vidic is one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history.

Today marks the 15th anniversary of his iconic move to Manchester United from Spartak Moscow in 2006, which turned out to be one of the biggest bargains in football history at just £7 million.

While United have boasted some iconic defenders in the Premier League era, namely the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Jaap Stam, many would argue that Vidic comes top of the tree.

Vidic's legendary career

The Serbian was renowned for his astonishing commitment to the United cause, throwing himself headfirst into tackles and putting his body on the line to ensure the opposition wouldn't score.

In the end, Vidic won five Premier League titles at Old Trafford as well as three League Cups, four Community Shields, the Champions League title and the FIFA Club World Cup.

He also holds the distinction of being the only defender to win the Premier League Player of the Year award twice and marshalled the United back four to a record 14 consecutive clean sheets in 2008/09.

Vidic vs Van Dijk

So, yeh, it would be fair to say that Vidic was a pretty decent centre-back, but that doesn't mean he isn't without his critics and many of them hail from United's north-western rivals: Liverpool.

That's because certain sections of the Anfield faithful - along with a fair few neutral supporters, it must be said - would actually opine that Virgil van Dijk is the superior defender.

Now, I can already sense that some of you are enthusiastically nodding and others are wondering where you left your pitchfork, but it was indeed a genuine debate throughout much of 2020.

Viral Vidic video

Besides, the Liverpool defender is amassing an increasingly impressive trophy cabinet on the back of winning the Premier League and Champions League as well as competing for the Ballon d'Or.

But before we burrow too deeply into the statistical back and forth, we think that a viral video from YouTuber 'Teo CRi' fronts a pretty formidable argument for those backing Vidic over Van Dijk.

Intrigued? We figured you might be, so kick your feet up and indulge in the montage below to see exactly why it's titled: 'Van Dijk is Good...But Vidic was a BEAST!'

Vidic's special type of brilliance

Now, don't think for one second that either the video creator or myself are claiming that Van Dijk isn't committed to the cause at Liverpool and wouldn't give his all for three points.

However, let's face it, most people would plump for Vidic if they needed a defender to fight tooth and nail through the final 10 minutes of a game that their life depended on.

So, yes, there's good reason to think that Van Dijk might be the more complete player and he could well surpass the Serbian's trophy tally by the time he's finished on Merseyside.

But make no mistake that the special type of brilliance that Vidic brought to the Premier League is unlikely to ever be matched because it certainly hasn't been over the last 15 years.