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An angry Sir Alex Ferguson once told Sven-Goran Eriksson he'd kill him

An angry Sir Alex Ferguson once told Sven-Goran Eriksson he'd kill him

Eriksson revealed the pair clashed over former United striker, Wayne Rooney.

Sir Alex Ferguson once told Sven-Goran Eriksson he would kill him if he picked Wayne Rooney for England duty.

The Swede, who managed the Three Lions for five years, recalled the time that Fergie went ballistic at him over the phone as he tried to stop Eriksson from calling up Rooney.

Rooney quickly became a key player for club and country not long after he burst onto the scene but Ferguson had a knack for stopping his players going away with their nations because he wanted them to focus on Manchester United.

It didn't always work, however, with Eriksson standing his ground against the fiery Scotsman on this particular occasion.

"With Alex, the amazing thing was it was seven o'clock in the morning or earlier. Always. When he was angry," Eriksson told The Times.

"And never 'Hello Sven, how are you?' It was "whuurssshhhh" [yelling]. I thought he should kill me.

"He said, 'I will kill you. You are finished.' But I represented England and you have to stand up.

"What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong and when you say 'Don't pick Rooney because I'm going to kill you'... I said, 'F*** off, what's going on with you?'

"And he was screaming. Whenever he got like that... it has no meaning.

Ferguson was unhappy with Eriksson picking Rooney for England duty (Image: Alamy)
Ferguson was unhappy with Eriksson picking Rooney for England duty (Image: Alamy)

"That's why I said, 'Alex, I will pick Rooney. Now, have a nice holiday. Ciao, bye.'"

Fergie, a 13-time Premier League winner, developed a reputation for losing his head and dishing out the infamous 'hairdryer treatment'.

There's one incredible story where he brought himself on as a sub and got sent off for St Mirren when he was manager during a pre-season friendly as part of three-week tour of the Caribbean.

The story goes that the Guyana team were not taking it easy at all, their centre-half being very rough and ready with the Saints' young Robert Torrance - something that angered Ferguson and prompted him to remonstrate with the referee from the touchline.

The legendary United manager is well known for his fiery temper (Image: Alamy)
The legendary United manager is well known for his fiery temper (Image: Alamy)

"That's it, I'm coming on," Ferguson said to his assistant David Provan. "That big b*****d is taking liberties."

Provan and Ferguson had both been kitted out as substitutes for a laugh but the former Dunfermline, Rangers and Falkirk striker wanted in.

He entered the fray and when the next cross came in, Ferguson exacted "a bit of revenge" on the defender, leaving him "squealing" - according to the man himself.

When they went at it again, Ferguson left it on the centre-back one more time and the referee swiftly gave him his marching orders.

SPORTbible Stories is the brand-new podcast from the SPORT team at LADbible. The latest episode features a chat with WWE legend Triple H who opens up on his long in-ring career, his rivalry with The Rock during WWE's Attitude Era and Logan Paul's fledgling wrestling career. You can watch the episode here.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy