It’s 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson brought an end to his glorious reign as Manchester United boss – but his long-time friend has revealed that he sometimes wishes he could return to the dressing room.
Ferguson won a remarkable 13 league titles and two Champions League during his 27 years as manager, driving the team on through his force of personality, and a fair few hairdryers.
Manchester United have struggled since he retired in 2013 – they’ve never come within 12 points of the title, and currently languish in eighth place after a disappointing season under Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman is the club’s fifth permanent gaffer since Ferguson quit, after David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick also had caretaker spells.
Previous legendary boss Sir Matt Busby came out of retirement for a brief interim stint as manager in 1970, having previously managed the club from 1945 to 1969, winning the club’s first European Cup.
Ferguson, now 82, was never tempted to come out of retirement though, according to his long-serving former kitman Albert Morgan.
“No way,” Morgan told FourFourTwo, “although every now and again, when we’re sat having a cup of tea and we’ve had a s**t performance, he’ll say, ‘I’d f***ing love half an hour in that dressing room’.”
Ferguson has remained a regular at Old Trafford, and cares deeply about events on the pitch, just as he always did. “The club still means a lot to him,” Morgan said. “If I don’t go to a game and watch it on TV, I can guarantee within five minutes of kick-off, my phone is on fire – ‘What the f***ing hell was that? Look at that!’ He’s still so passionate.”
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