All you need to know about the truth behind Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United retirement U-turn in 2002

As the manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson won the Premier League 13 times. The legacy of the man widely regarded as the most successful coach in British footballing history could have been very different if the Scot had not made the biggest U-turn of his career on the plan to retire at the age of 60.

Fergie announced his desire to leave the job he adored and walk off into the Salford sunset in the summer of 2002 during an exclusive interview I was allowed with him at the start of the 1997-98 season.

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Manchester United legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement tale:

As we sat in one of the VIP stands in what is now the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand with a plate piled high with steak sandwiches and a pot of tea, the sun shone brightly on Old Trafford.

Ferguson had previously banned a Manchester Evening News reporter for trying to claim in a back-page story that he would leave the club in the summer after the joy of winning the Premier League for the fourth time in five seasons had been restrained by the disappointment of losing in the Champions League semi-final to Borussia Dortmund.

So I knew I had to be cautious. However, when the topic went to Eric Cantona’s decision to retire at the end of the previous season, an opportunity arose. Fergie, of course, had anticipated the question a mile away. Instead of shutting me down, he disclosed that he planned to retire at the age of 60 in 2002.

The great man then went into great detail about how he believed the stress of managing England‘s biggest club for another five years would ultimately take its toll. He also mentioned his own father, who died at the age of 67 after grafting in the Govan shipyards and was unable to relish any kind of retirement. It’s safe to say that my successive story made a splash.

United, on the other hand, had five years to select a new manager, and by the fall of 2001, Sven-Goran Eriksson was the front-runner. After orchestrating a 5-1 win over Germany in Munich, the Swede had coaching experience in Portugal and Italy and was on the verge of directing England to World Cup qualification. Ferguson claims that his wife, Cathy, had a key role in convincing him to alter his mind.

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