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Football

20th Sep 2024

Alex Ferguson says he misses managing Man United

Zoe Hodges

Man United misses him!

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he misses managing Manchester United in a rare interview following his retirement 11 years ago.

The 82-year-old led Manchester United to their 13th Premier League title in the 2012-13 season before retiring after 27 years at the club.

In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Ferguson admitted that he missed being a football manager but has found a way of adjusting.

He said: “I have been retired 11 years now, so you find a way of adjusting. I miss it sometimes.”

The United legend has been seen at Champions League finals over the last decade despite the Red Devils not reaching that stage of the competition since he departed the club.

During his tenure at Old Trafford, Ferguson won the Champions League twice – once as part of their Treble in 1999 and again in 2008.

Solksjaer United
Solksjaer scored the winning goal as United clinched a famous treble, overcoming Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final. (Credit: Getty Images)

They reached the final again in 2009 and 2011 but lost to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

He said: “I think the first year after retirement, I went to the European final and I said to Cathy ‘this is what I miss’ – big games, the European games.

“So, then I went to most of the European finals because I find something I can relate to, something I would like to have done every day.

“Because these are the big events that United should always be involved in.”

United have struggled to find a suitable replacement for Ferguson. In the past 11 years David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick have all been and gone since he departed, failing to come close to the Premier League title.

Sir Alex Ferguson has had a tumultuous time since his retirement. In 2018 he suffered a brain haemorrhage which required emergency surgery at Salford Royal Hospital.

Luke Chadwick
WATFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – AUGUST 26: Sir Alex Ferguson the Manchester United manager shouts instructions during the Barclays Premiership match between Watford and Manchester United at Vicarage Road on August 26, 2006 in Watford, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Last October, his wife Cathy, who Sir Alex described as his ‘bedrock’ died aged 84.

The interview was part of National Playlist Day, which is used to celebrate the power of personalised music playlist for those living with dementia.

He said: “Fortunately my memory is quite good, pray the lord and touch wood it will stay that way.

“I read a lot, I do quizzes, and I think that helps, there is the YouTube quizzes with 100 questions and if I don’t get 70 per cent I’m struggling.”