Best Sir Alex Ferguson quotes

Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 as one of the greatest football managers of all time.

Ferguson led Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups, a League Cup, a European Cup Winners' Cup and a European Super Cup in a period of unprecedented success in the first half of the 1980s.

Appointed by Manchester United in 1986, the Scot took time to make his mark at Old Trafford, but went on to eclipse even the great Sir Matt Busby in an extraordinary 26-year tenure, leading the Red Devils to 38 trophies in that time – including 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups, an Intercontinental Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.

Ferguson worked with some of the game's greatest players and also fell out with a few along the way, while there were run-ins with officials and digs at some of his contemporaries. Here, a look at some of his most memorable quotes...

32. On interests outside football

Sir Alex Ferguson originally opted to retire at the end of the 2001/02 season, but ultimately carried on at Manchester United for more than a decade after that, eventually leaving after winning the Premier League for a 13th time in 2012/13.

On his interests away from the football field, Ferguson said: "Football management is such a pressurised thing. Horse racing is a release. I'm also learning to play the piano – I'm quite determined – it's another release from the pressure of my job."

31. "If he hits me, I'm dead"

Manchester United's signing of Peter Schmeichel in 1992 was inspired and for much of his career at Old Trafford, the Dane was the world's best goalkeeper.

Schmeichel was an imposing figure in the United goal and an intimidating presence not only for opponents, but also his own manager. Following a dressing room bust-up with the Dane, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "He was towering over me and the other players were almost covering their eyes. I'm looking up and thinking 'if he does hit me, I'm dead.'"

30. A hug and a kiss for Big Sam

Chelsea fell away in the title race at the end of the 2006/07 season and Sir Alex Ferguson was grateful to his old friend Sam Allardyce after the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw by Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in late April.

"He'll be getting a hug and a kiss from me – maybe even two!" Ferguson said as United went on to win the title for the first time since 2003.

29. On a bizarre bet with Cristiano Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson once bet Cristiano Ronaldo he wouldn't score more than 15 goals in a season and the wager ended up costing the Manchester United manager £400.

"I bet him he wouldn’t get 15 league goals and I’m going to have to change my bet with him," Ferguson later said. "If he gets to 15 I can change it and I am allowed to do that because I’m the manager. I'm going to make it 150 now!" With the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't the wisest wager, but United were the real winners.

28. "I do believe in fate"

Sir Alex Ferguson won the Champions League twice as Manchester United manager, but was on the brink of losing both times – against Bayern Munich in the 1999 final and versus Chelsea in the 2008 showpiece.

On each occasion, however, he ended up a winner and it was a similar story in tight contests and title races across his entire managerial career. "I do believe in fate," he once said. With good reason.

27. On teamwork and the squad game

Sir Alex Ferguson understood the value of a strong squad at a time when it was less common than now and it was his two substitute strikers – Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær – who won Manchester United the 1999 Champions League final in a dramatic late turnaround against Bayern Munich. 

Opening up on the importance of teamwork and a strong squad, Ferguson once said: "I'm going to tell you the story about the geese which fly 5,000 miles from Canada to France. They fly in V-formation but the second ones don't fly. They're the subs for the first ones. And then the second ones take over – so it's teamwork."

26. On the infamous 'hairdryer treatment'

Sir Alex Ferguson's infamous "hairdryer treatment" has been referenced plenty of times over the years by players and the media.

The term is a metaphor used to describe the Scot's angry rants in the face of his players, but Ferguson claims it is exaggerated. "Myths grow all the time," he said. "If I was to listen to the number of times I've thrown tea cups then we've gone through some crockery in this place. It's completely exaggerated, but I don't like people arguing back with me."

25. "Benítez was a very angry man"

Liverpool boss Rafa Benítez launched a scathing attack on Sir Alex Ferguson in January 2009 in his bizarre "facts" press conference which spiced up the title race. But Manchester United still ended up winning it and the Scot was not impressed.

"I think he was an angry man," Ferguson said. "He must have been disturbed for some reason. I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he'll reflect and understand what he said was absolutely ridiculous."

24. Liverpool title contenders? "You must be joking"

Not content with knocking Liverpool "off their f***ing perch", Sir Alex Ferguson didn't want Manchester United's biggest rivals anywhere near the top of the Premier League.

Asked in 2007 if the Reds were title contenders that season, Ferguson said: "You must be joking. Do I look as if I'm a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?"

23. On "noisy neighbours" Manchester City

Manchester City may have dominated the Premier League in recent years under Pep Guardiola, but the Sky Blues were still playing catch-up in 2009 – despite their new-found wealth.

And Sir Alex Ferguson was dismissive of Manchester United's local rivals. "There has been a lot of expectation on Manchester City and with the spending they have done they have to win something," he said. "Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour and have to live with it. You can't do anything about them."

22. "You can’t applaud a referee"

Sir Alex Ferguson was an intimidating figure for match officials during his 26 years in charge at Manchester United and at times, it definitely seemed as if some referees were afraid of the fiery Scot.

If things did not go his way, Ferguson did not hold back in his criticism of officials and often confronted the men in black at the end of matches. And even if he deemed their performance to be acceptable, he wasn't going to praise them. "You can’t applaud a referee," he once said.

21. On Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise was often the antagonist and the former Chelsea midfielder often seemed to be involved in ill-tempered incidents in his meetings with Manchester United.

In a 5-0 win over United in 1999, Wise clattered Nicky Butt with a challenge which was more like a kung fu kick and pulled hair out of the midfielder's upper leg. Butt was sent off for his retaliation, while Wise only got a yellow. And afterwards, Sir Alex Ferguson said: "He could start a row in an empty house."

20. On Mourinho's "paint-stripper" wine

Sir Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho developed a respectful rivalry when the latter joined Chelsea in 2004 and after the Scot's retirement, the Portuguese went on to work for the Red Devils.

Their relationship was mostly good, but Ferguson was not a fan of Mourinho's choice of wine. After their first meeting, he said: "He was certainly full of it, calling me "Boss" and "Big Man" when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper."

19. "Great players must always work"

Sir Alex Ferguson worked with some of the world's finest footballers during his time as Manchester United manager – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham – and the Scot was clear about the best way of utilising his top talents.

"The work of a team should always embrace a great player but the great player must always work," he once said. And they always did.

18. "All they can talk about is Manchester United"

When Carlos Tevez left Manchester United in 2009 and signed for local rivals Manchester City, the Sky Blues unveiled a billboard in the city centre which showed a huge image of the Argentine and read: "Welcome to Manchester!"

Sir Alex Ferguson was unimpressed. "It's City isn't it?," he said. "They are a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United; they can't get away from it. That arrogance will be rewarded. It is a go at us, that's the one thing it is. They think taking Carlos Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff."

17. Defending Verón

Juan Sebastián Verón arrived at Manchester United with a big reputation and an even larger transfer fee of £28.1 million, which was a British record at the time.

The Argentina midfielder was unable to replicate his performances from Serie A in the Premier League and that drew criticism from the media. Ferguson, however, was having none of it. In an expletive-riddled tirade, the Scot screamed: "On you go. I'm no fucking talking to you. He's a f***ing great player. Yous are f***ing idiots." Verón was sold to Chelsea for £15m after two seasons at Old Trafford.

16. On Keane's heroics vs Juventus

Roy Keane was instrumental in Manchester United's comeback from 2-0 down away to Juventus in the teams' Champions League semi-final second leg in April 1999, scoring the first goal and turning in a heroic captain's performance in Turin as the Red Devils won 3-2 and 4-3 on aggregate.

"It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field," Ferguson said. "Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt such an honour to be associated with such a player."

15. On Rooney's U-turn

One of the most difficult periods of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United tenure came in 2010, when it emerged that Wayne Rooney wanted to leave the club, but a new deal was eventually agreed.

Rooney went on to become United's all-time top scorer and on his U-turn, Ferguson said: "Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in the field."

14. "I wouldn't sell them a virus"

Sir Alex Ferguson became increasingly irritated with Real Madrid following their persistent pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo and hit out at the Spanish side in December 2008.

After a Madrid director had hinted a deal to take the Portuguese superstar to Spain was already done, Ferguson said: "You don't think we'd get into a contract with that mob, do you? Jesus Christ. I wouldn't sell them a virus. So that's a no – there is no agreement between the clubs." Ronaldo did end up joining Los Blancos the following summer, though.

13. On Italians

Sir Alex Ferguson often came up against sides from Serie A during his time at Manchester United, but the Scot once admitted he was suspicious of Italians.

"When an Italian says it's pasta I check under the sauce to make sure," he once said. "They are the inventors of the smokescreen."

12. On Paul Ince

Paul Ince spent six seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson between 1989 and 1995 at Manchester United and the midfielder played a big part in the Scot's early success at the Old Trafford outfit.

Ince was always confident in his ability and Ferguson once said of the midfielder: "I used to have a saying that when a player is at his peak, he feels as though he can climb Everest in his slippers. That's what he was like."

11. "Inzaghi born offside"

One of the greatest strikers of his generation in an impressive career with Juventus, AC Milan and Italy, Filippo Inzaghi was a prolific goalscorer – but he could also be frequently found in offside positions.

Football fans often used to make jokes about Inzaghi's inability to stay onside and Sir Alex Ferguson once quipped: "That lad must have been born offside."

10. "Lads, it's Tottenham"

Sir Alex Ferguson won 39 of his 61 matches against Tottenham in all competitions for Manchester United and lost just nine games against Spurs. And his former captain Roy Keane famously revealed he kept it simple in a pre-match team talk ahead of a meeting with the north London club.

"I thought I knew what the group might need, that we didn't need a big team talk," Keane said. "It was Tottenham at home. I thought please don't go on about Tottenham, we all know what Tottenham is about, they are nice and tidy but we'll f***ing do them. He came in and said: 'Lads, it's Tottenham', and that was it. Brilliant."

9. On following Sir Matt Busby

Sir Alex Ferguson struggled initially at Manchester United, but ultimately achieved enormous success at Old Trafford and even ended up eclipsing the achievements of the legendary Sir Matt Busby.

Speaking of Busby, Ferguson said: "I'm privileged to have followed Sir Matt because all you have to do is to try and maintain the standards that he set so many years ago."

8. On Eric Cantona

Manchester United's signing of Eric Cantona from Leeds United in 1992 proved to be inspired as the enigmatic Frenchman helped the Red Devils win the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford.

Symbolic of a change of fortunes at United after winning the title with Leeds the previous year, the French forward earned huge praise from his manager. "If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona," Sir Alex Ferguson said. "He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he were asking: 'I'm Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?"

7. On the Beckham boot incident

Following a defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup in February 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson was unhappy at David Beckham's contribution and kicked a football boot in anger, leaving the England captain with a cut eye.

The incident made the papers and Ferguson was asked for an explanation in his next press conference. "It was a freakish incident," he said. "If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing!" Beckham also played it down, but was sold to Real Madrid the following summer.

6. "Wenger is a novice"

Manchester United and Arsenal shared an intense rivalry for much of Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure and the Scot could not resist a few digs at Arsène Wenger in that time.

"They say he's an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! I've got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!" Ferguson once said. And on another occasion early in the Frenchman's reign, he alluded to the Gunners manager's previous role as coach of Japanese side Grampus Eight. "He's a novice," Ferguson said. "He should keep his opinions to Japanese football." 

5. On the first time he saw Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs was the first of a hugely talented group of young players, the Class of 92, to make their mark in the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson in the early 1990s.

Looking back to the moment he set eyes on the Welsh winger, Ferguson said: "I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind."

4. On Gary Neville and the milkman

Gary Neville made 602 appearances for Manchester United and the former England defender has revealed his late father was in the crowd for every single one of those.

Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager through Neville's entire United career and once said of his skipper: "If he was an inch taller he'd be the best centre half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I'd check the milkman."

3. Knocking Liverpool off their perch

When Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Manchester United in 1986, the Red Devils' fierce rivals Liverpool were very much the dominant force in English football. But that changed as the Scot led United to 13 Premier League titles in a hugely successful era.

"My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment," Ferguson said in 2003. "My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*****g perch. And you can print that."

2. "Squeaky bum time"

Sir Alex Ferguson led Manchester United to an incredible 13 Premier League titles during his Old Trafford tenure and the Scot always seemed to know how to motivate his players when it mattered most.

On the touchline and in the press room, he was also an intimidating figure and coined the term "squeaky bum time" back in 2003 when talking about Arsenal's run-in. "It's getting tickly now – squeaky bum time, I call it," he said. The expression was added to the The Oxford English Dictionary ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

1. "Football, bloody hell!"

It was probably Sir Alex Ferguson's most iconic and famous quote and it somehow summed up the madness of Manchester United's epic late comeback against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final at Camp Nou.

United were a goal down heading into added time in the Champions League final, their treble hopes all but dead until late, late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær sealed an unbelievable turnaround. Speaking straight after the game, Ferguson said: "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football, bloody hell!"