Sir Alex Ferguson is now into his ninth decade but age has not dimmed his passion for football. His mind flickers as fiercely as ever. Steve McClaren, assistant to Ferguson for that mystical period when Manchester United won the treble, can attest as much.
“We had coffee a couple of months ago, for a couple of hours,” McClaren tells The Athletic. “I remember saying to him, ‘Your memory is unbelievable’. Walter Smith had just died, God rest his soul, so we were reminiscing about Walter, talking about the games in the 1960s, ’70s, referees, goalscorers, substitutions. He is still sharp, still looking well. Loves the game. He has a fantastic opinion on United, which I’m certainly not going to share with you.”
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McClaren says that last line lightly but firmly. Like meeting the Queen, sensitive details of an audience with Ferguson are not to be broadcast. For a towering figure whose opinions once shaped national discourse, however, his partial withdrawal from public life has left intrigue over his thoughts on all manner of matters.
What does he think of the modern Manchester United? How might he address the team’s tailspin? Which players would he sign to lift United back into title contention?
We were given a glimpse into this when Ferguson was filmed speaking to the UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov after United’s 1-1 draw with Everton in October. “You should always start with your best players,” Ferguson said, reflecting on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to rest Cristiano Ronaldo. The rarity of hearing from Ferguson on a current issue accentuated the impact of his words and an innocent comment in a private setting spread the sense of uncertainty over Solskjaer’s reign. Six weeks later, Solskjaer was gone.
If that is an example of Ferguson’s inadvertent influence, the deliberate touches behind the scenes are now only delivered in special circumstances.
In April, he set the tone on derailing the Super League by resolutely coming out against the idea before the official launch had even taken place.
Then in August, he intervened in Ronaldo’s prospective move to Manchester City. His involvement has been reported before but The Athletic can reveal he called Joel Glazer directly to argue for United hijacking the transfer. Sources say Ferguson seldom rings United’s principal owner, but he found it unconscionable Ronaldo might cross the Manchester divide so broke the emergency glass.
Rio Ferdinand had the main dialogue with Ronaldo during those mad 24 hours but Ferguson’s bond with his former player could be seen in a joint interview for MUTV. “Everything that he said to me, he did,” Ronaldo reflected when thinking back to his first spell.
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The in-house production bore TeamViewer branding, United’s shirt sponsor, and the footage was a predictable hit on social media. Ferguson resisted that kind of commercial expansion when in charge — United only began posting tweets in 2013 (see first one below) — and he is said to feel there is an over-emphasis on sponsorships since Ed Woodward became executive vice-chairman.
New era, same spirit. The season starts here. Let's do this. #mufc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2013
Ferguson still has questions about new technology. He retains affection for writing letters by hand and after doing an interview with Gary Neville for LADbible this year was understood to have asked “what on earth” it was.
In that Neville interview, he offered a candid admission, conceding he made a mistake in not assigning Park Ji-sung a man-marking task on Lionel Messi in the 2011 Champions League final. It was the kind of tactical sophistication Ferguson is perhaps overlooked for, something McClaren witnessed in one of his early training sessions when Paul Scholes hit a speculative pass out of play. A simpler ball had been on and McClaren went to intervene. “Leave him,” Ferguson interjected quickly. “He saw that pass, he was experimenting.”
Ferguson had an incredible antenna for the flow of matches and the brains of his players, and he gave Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna a masterclass on that subject on the flight back from London after a match against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2019. The two coaches sat next to Ferguson with laptops out and footage rolling, soaking up his analysis of the game just completed, a 1-0 win for United.
Ferguson had regular conversations with Solskjaer too and was welcomed to the Europa League final. He was the first to wrap a protective arm around David de Gea after the shootout. But to portray Ferguson as pulling the strings would be a fallacy. Solskjaer had his own distinct approach, especially towards the end.
Much was made of Ferguson’s visit to Carrington following the 5-0 defeat by Liverpool in October but he was primarily there for a club suit fitting by designer Paul Smith. At an executive level, he will offer his opinion when asked but was not part of the decision-making process to sack Solskjaer or appoint Ralf Rangnick.
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Ferguson remains on the football board, which is largely figurative, alongside figures such as Sir Bobby Charlton, former chief executive David Gill and non-executive director Michael Edelson. The club board — including the six Glazer siblings, Woodward, managing director Richard Arnold and chief financial officer Cliff Baty — retains the power.
These days, Ferguson mainly gives his feedback in his lounge at Old Trafford. He regularly invites former colleagues and is in his element reclining on his sofa over a glass of red wine, recalling stories and delivering the kind of devilish one-liners that once made his press conferences so engaging. He has been known to offer tips on horse racing too.
Rangnick, assistant coach Chris Armas, and technical director Darren Fletcher have all visited recently. Mick Hucknall, the lead singer of Simply Red, has been on the guest list. As has Albert Morgan, Ferguson’s old kit man. Other celebrities knock on the door, answered by a staff member, to request some of Ferguson’s time.
Away from matches, there are lunches with Patrice Evra and the Class of ’92. Nicky Butt gets regular advice. “We speak to each other about what’s going on at Man United and other clubs, we analyse games, what is going on with other managers, what dynamics he likes and doesn’t,” Butt says. “It is just an honest conversation, open.
“That’s what it’s like with all his ex-players. When you become retired, you move away from the fact he’s the boss and you’re the pupil. He’s still the boss, always will be, but you become more of a friend and he becomes a confidante.”
Their relationship has survived Butt handing in a transfer request when he was a United player. Ferguson wanted to Butt to stay, but he could not abide slipping down the pecking order. Ferguson helped sort a transfer to Newcastle a few months later and once Butt retired he offered him a return to Carrington.
“I came back to get my coaching hours for my badges,” Butt explains. “Then after about nine months he pulled me into his office and he said, ‘I want to give you a job as a coach’. I said, ‘No’. I didn’t want him feeling sorry for me and giving me one. He said, ‘No you’ve earnt this. I’ve seen you working’. I wasn’t getting paid. I didn’t miss a day, went in over Christmas, so he saw my commitment.
“From then, I just went through the ranks, getting higher jobs within the club. Every time I did, I spoke to him and he advised me.”
Butt consulted Ferguson about leaving United this year and even now he has finished his MBA in chief executive management, those conversations will continue. Butt adds: “Every time I do something, I’ll pick up the phone and ask his opinion. That’s what we do.”
Eric Steele, Ferguson’s goalkeeping coach between 2008 and 2013, concurs: “He doesn’t get involved in the hierarchy, he supports the club like an ambassador, he still wants to go to games. He is there to offer help. If you’ve worked with him, he always says, ‘If you want to pick the phone up, pick the phone up’. He said it to me: ‘If you ever need any help, give me a ring’.
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“I know he’d be really annoyed if I didn’t ring him on something. That’s what people do if they have big decisions to make — what a person to ring and ask for advice. That’s the beauty of the man. He cares. That matters. He cares greatly about Man United. It’s in his blood. When you look at him at 80, he is part of the club’s DNA, always will be.”
McClaren left United after two years and wishes he could have had longer under Ferguson. He only took the Middlesbrough job in 2001 because he thought Ferguson was retiring. “He said, ‘They won’t consider you for the manager’s job, if you want to leave now and pursue management you can’,” says McClaren. “He encouraged me. ‘In a year you’re gonna be looking for a job anyway. If you can find one that’s attractive then by all means do it’. The next season when he did his U-turn and stayed on, I didn’t regret going into management but I certainly thought, ‘I wish he’d have told me that earlier and I wouldn’t have left’.”
Their friendship remains, and although his Scottish patriotism burns brightly, Ferguson extended himself when McClaren was the England manager. “When I was in trouble I would phone him up and he’d give me great advice,” McClaren says. “His wisdom was always valuable. We’ve kept in touch ever since.”
Tony Strudwick worked closely with Ferguson as first-team fitness coach from 2007 and stayed at United until 2018, so he can chart the way the club adjusted to the end of an era. “Sir Alex would be acutely aware his presence has an impact, so when David Moyes first took over, he was still involved in the background, but he really did step away,” Strudwick says. “I think he felt that was only right and respectful.
“We didn’t see him a lot when David Moyes came in. He didn’t want to be a shadow around the incoming manager. That was a good decision. But in more recent years his affection for what he would call ‘our club’ — he uses those words, because of the legacy he built — has become clear. It’s not from an ego perspective, he actually cares for the club.”
How else do you explain those evenings in the twilight of his reign when Ferguson would watch academy training sessions featuring a very young Mason Greenwood? “We used to train from 6:30pm to 8pm,” says Clayton Blackmore, a former player and coach. “Sir Alex would be in at 7am but he came to our sessions.”
That same affection could be seen in October 2019 when Ferguson showed up to Carrington to watch United’s under-18s alongside Solskjaer and Carrick. His presence was all the more poignant because 17 months earlier Ferguson had suffered the brain haemorrhage that at one stage left him “terrified” he would never be able to speak again.
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His recovery has been remarkable, to the point where he has even given Jurgen Klopp a taste of the mind games that rival managers used to face regularly. “Jurgen, get a good sleep, you’re gonna need it for Sunday,” Ferguson told Klopp during a charity Zoom call ahead of United’s FA Cup tie with Liverpool in January.
Those in the dressing room at Old Trafford on May 26, 2019, for the game to mark the 20th anniversary of United beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, knew he was on the road to full health.
McClaren was Ferguson’s assistant that afternoon. “We had a fantastic reunion,” McClaren says. “His last speech in the dressing room was emotional, straight to the point.”
Peter Schmeichel, writing in his autobiography, One, details the scene. “In the dressing room, the joking stopped when the gaffer began to talk. He was still frail, conducting the whole talk sitting down, but my god, when he spoke…
“He began talking about how hard we had worked to enjoy the careers we did, how lucky we were to have had the opportunities to be footballers, how much we should value the occasion and being remembered fondly at a club like Manchester United.
“By the end… we all found ourselves clapping our hands and rolling our shoulders. Saying, ‘YEAH, LET’S WIN!’.”
Suffice to say, United won 5-0, a rather more comfortable victory than in the Nou Camp two decades before.
Those who have watched Never Give In, the documentary released in May about Ferguson’s fight to fitness made by his son Jason, gained a first-hand account of his powerful oration.
Strudwick took something else from the film too. “What came out, one of the things he was so passionate about, was remembering,” he says. “Some people only take so much more information out of certain situations. He remembered things you can’t get from an iPad. You get that from thousands of hours watching football, scenarios, moments in games.
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“He is still sharp. He has invited me and my son to the Wolves game (on January 3). We’ll have lunch first. I have no doubt we’ll recollect games. He had, and has, a microscopic memory for every detail.
“He had this great trick about remembering people’s names. Whenever he was introduced he would say their name three times. ‘Hello, Tony, where do you live, Tony? How is your day, Tony?’. He would recollect everybody’s name he went to school with. Don’t get me wrong, we heard the same bloody stories every week, but it was unbelievable. He was so observant in life, picking up on little cues.
“I love him to bits. He gave me arguably the greatest six, seven years of my career. Three titles in a row. The two we lost in my time both went down to the last day of the season.”
Solskjaer tapped into Ferguson’s human touch and vast experience when attempting to sign Jude Bellingham in March 2020, with football director John Murtough introducing the pair during a tour of Carrington. Although Bellingham was set for Borussia Dortmund, it is felt by some a longer meeting with Ferguson may have changed his mind.
On numerous occasions, Ferguson’s rhetoric has proved compelling. Mikael Silvestre rejected advances from Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to join United. “I played against United for Inter Milan and they had just won the treble when he called me, so he doesn’t have to say much,” Silvestre says. “I am like, ‘Wow, OK’.
“The language barrier was not great but what impressed me is that he said, ‘We have been following you since the Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia and before, but Inter were faster than us to sign you’. The fact he said they’d been following me was nice to hear.”
Does Ferguson still have the power to persuade young players to join United, though? “Yes, because behind every child there is a parent,” replies Silvestre, who this year co-founded the Talent Lyfe agency. “And when a parent has a chance to speak to Sir Alex, they’re going to do everything they can to push their kids towards Man United.
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“When parents see Sir Alex it is amazing. He still has that reach and that power. It is just natural for him.”
Silvestre, who played 361 games for United, sees Ferguson when he visits Manchester. “He was talking about French football to me during our last meeting,” Silvestre says. “It is a deep, deep, deep passion.”
Paul Parker is another former player who keeps in touch. “I still had Christmas cards up from him every year until he retired in 2013,” says Parker. “My eldest boy was a bit disappointed because he could no longer tell all his mates he received a Christmas card through the door from Sir Alex Ferguson.”
Parker left United in 1996, having been instrumental in two title-winning campaigns. “Every time I go up there, I see him and he slags me off for something in his own friendly way,” Parker laughs. “I always want him to know I am there. I am one of those players still allowed in Old Trafford, even if some know they might not be welcomed back.
“He loves talking about funny moments about his old players. He likes seeing us because we are reflections of what we achieved together and it gives him a chance to reminisce about it.”
Martin Edwards, United chairman from 1980 to 2002, does not believe the man he hired to replace Ron Atkinson in 1986 should keep a distance from the club in retirement. “Too much is made of that business,” he says. “Tommy Doc (Docherty, United manager 1972-77) never allowed Matt Busby to interfere.
“I don’t think Matt ever picked (his successor) Frank O’Farrell’s team. What happened that maybe shouldn’t have happened was that Matt kept an office at the ground. People would think, ‘Well, is he still in charge?’. Alex has his own office, too, but that’s only for match days rather than during the week.”
Ferguson did offer input on what Moyes might say at his unveiling, but that is eight years ago now.
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Edwards adds: “My view though is that the door should be open, and if you’re asked for some advice, you will give it. Once you’re gone, though, you really have gone. There is only one manager who really knows what is going on in the dressing room.”
For a time, Ferguson’s expertise was directed towards Hale Barns United, his grandson’s team. He would occasionally offer instructions to the boys and chose to stand on the sidelines watching on the day his other United clinched the 2007 Premier League title.
This Christmas, he has been seen buying his grandchildren toys in Wilmslow, just south of Manchester. He has also hosted a raffle at his local car wash (the prize was free car washes for a year), pulling tickets out of the hat with a beaming smile on his face — after he selected his own name.
As for what to get as a birthday present for the man who seemingly has everything? He is said to enjoy unwrapping a new Marks & Spencer shirt each year.
Or you could have followed Steele’s example. “I sent him a text: ‘Congratulations on your 80th. Time to worry now, the candles are costing more than the cake’.”
Additional contributors: Adam Crafton and Daniel Taylor
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 80th birthday on New Year’s Eve. You can read our special coverage of the former Manchester United manager by clicking here.
(Top images: Getty Images; design: Tom Slator)