Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as Man Utd manager eight years ago, and reports about an ambitious transfer strategy in the run-up to his stunning exit have since emerged.
It seemed business as usual at Man Utd just over eight years ago.
In fact, left-back Patrice Evra claims legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was plotting another decade of dominance.
Whilst there were whisperings that the Scot might be pondering retirement, he had a chat with Evra.
“Two weeks before his retirement, I remember there was a lot of media saying Ferguson will maybe retire next year, and he said to me, ‘Patrice, I will never retire. I will be here another 10 years’,” Evra told United’s official podcast.
Not only did Ferguson confirm his plans to stay, Evra claims he also outlined his transfer masterplan to reclaim the Champions League.
Sir Alex Ferguson announced he would be retiring as Man Utd manager eight years ago
Even for Ferguson, it was ambitious.
Evra continued: “He then said: ‘My target is I’m 99 per cent sure we will have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. I just need these two players to win the Champions League again. Ninety-nine per cent.’
“And to be fair, when I speak with Cristiano, I ask him and he said yes to the boss, and was coming to join United. He told me this.”
The extent to which Ferguson truly believed he could make those moves happen is uncertain, but Evra was undoubtedly convinced.
Ronaldo and Ferguson shared a special bond before he headed to Spain, whilst Bale was heavily linked with United before his Bernabeu move.
Whether the moves were on the cards or not, those at United seemed convinced it was full steam ahead.
Patrice Evra says Ferguson told him he was confident of bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo
Then, on this day eight years ago, players were confronted with the moment they had feared.
“After two weeks, we were in the dressing room waiting,” Evra said.
“When we arrived at Carrington, I see all those cameras and I was like: ‘Wow, someone has done something wrong. Maybe a player is the story again! Someone has done something wrong, we are in trouble’.
“But we arrived and people said, ‘Guys, you have to stay in the dressing room because the boss wants to have a chat.’
“And when the boss came into the dressing room to talk to everyone, it’s never good news.
“He came, and he said, ‘I’m really sorry. Some people have said that I’m going to retire even before I say it myself. That’s why you saw all those cameras. But I will retire because my wife needs me’.”
Evra and the Man Utd dressing room were shocked by Ferguson’s retirement announcement
Michael Carrick, now a coach at United himself, also recalled the details of the moment Ferguson informed the squad of his retirement.
In his autobiography, the midfielder admitted Ferguson was both “emotional” and “fuming” after being pressed by an impending leak of the news.
“I took in every detail,” Carrick wrote. “The boss began speaking and became quite emotional. ‘Look, boys, I didn’t want to do it this way.’
“‘I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m really disappointed how it’s come out. I really did want to be telling you first, but I’ve been forced to tell you now because it’s come out last night. Someone’s leaked it.’
“He was fuming about that. There couldn’t have been many people who knew.
“Sir Alex went on, ‘Look, boys, this is not something I’ve taken lightly.’ He mentioned (his wife) Lady Cathy’s sister passing away.
Michael Carrick stated Ferguson was “emotional” when he announced his retirement to the squad Michael Carrick has announced Sir Alex Ferguson will manage his Man United testimonial
“‘I feel that I owe it to my wife to be with her and look after her. It’s been unbelievable and thanks for everything, I’ve loved every minute. I don’t really want to go, but I’ve got to take this decision.’
“You could see it was hard for him to finally say, ‘This is it, boys.'”
Amid the shock and anguish in the Carrington dressing room, Ferguson reserved special apologies for two players.
Evra confirmed: ”He apologised to [Robin] van Persie, he apologised to Shinji [Kagawa], because he just brought them. He apologised to them especially.”
When he released his autobiography, Ferguson himself recalled the moment that his time at United came to an end.
He wrote: ”I told the players: ‘I hope I haven’t let some of you down, because you may have joined thinking I would stay.
Robin van Persie was hit hard by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd retirement
“We had told Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, for example, that I would not be retiring any time soon, which was correct at the point I said it.”
Whilst Ferguson tried to console Dutch striker van Persie, he was hit harder than most by the news.
“The person it hit more than anyone was Robin,” defender Rio Ferdinand recently said. “He’d come the year before, tasted that success and wanted more.
“Visually you could see it hit him [Van Persie] harder than anyone else at the time.”
The man himself, who fired United to their last Premier League title under Ferguson after his controversial move from Arsenal, admits he may have reconsidered if he knew what was to come.
“I did ask him the question how long his intentions as to stay and he said three years so that was in my mind when I decided to make the move from Arsenal,” Van Persie told Planet Football.
“Would I have changed my decision if I knew Sir Alex would be leaving at the end of that season? It is a good question and one that I can’t answer.
“He was one of the big reasons why I signed, for sure. He was a legendary manager and you could see from the moment I walked into the club that everything was working perfectly under him.”
Ferguson gave an emotional farewell speech at his final home game at Old Trafford
In the aftermath, there was shock, as well as well-deserved tributes for the great Ferguson.
He bid farewell with an emotional speech at Old Trafford after his side celebrated their 20th title after a 2-1 win over Swansea.
“I’ve got absolutely no script in my mind, I’m just going to ramble on and hope I get to the core of what this football club has meant to me,” he began.
He certainly conveyed his message on an emotional afternoon at the Theatre of Dreams.
And just like that, an era which will never be replicated was over.
A few years later, on BT Sport, Rio Ferdinand declared: “It wasn’t until Sir Alex Ferguson retired that we realised how good he was.”
Eight years later, those words ring true as much as ever.
source: www.mirror.co.uk
