Sir Alex Ferguson demanded Man Utd player sell his house and split with girlfriend in furious half-time rant

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once demanded that one of his own players sell his house and split up with his girlfriend during a furious half-time rant.

Ferguson managed United between 1986 and 2013, during which time he had a number of iconic dressing room rants.

One such rant was over winger Lee Sharpe, who joined the club in 1988 from Torquay United as a 17-year-old and enjoyed a largely successful eight-year spell.

He was tipped for big things at Old Trafford and earned his first England cap at 19, though injury issues and a battle with viral meningitis in 1992 threatened to derail his progress.

After winning seven major trophies with United, Sharpe joined Leeds for a club-record fee of £4.5 million but only made 30 appearances in three seasons due to a serious knee injury.

Ryan Giggs, Sir Alex Ferguson and Lee Sharpe pose with the Premier League trophy in 1994 (Image: Getty)

But back when he was 18, Sharpe was on the receiving end of a Ferguson rant which he says 'changed his life' completely.

Speaking exclusively to SPORTbible via Zamsino.com, he revealed: "Liverpool away, it was a Saturday afternoon when I came off at half-time, and I was 18.

"He just said, 'Your girlfriend is going back to Birmingham, you're selling your house and you're back in digs. You're selling your car, you're selling your dogs. I'm not happy with you, you're not good enough'.

"That was a rant that crushed me at 18. I had been going out with the girl since I was 12, she was 18 when she went back to Birmingham.

"Every week after that, he asked me if I was married, and I said, 'No, my girlfriend has gone home. We are finished'.

"It changed the course of my life, but definitely for the better."

Lee Sharpe celebrates scoring for Man Utd in October 1993 (Image: Getty)

Ferguson and Sharpe have not had a relationship in recent years after the winger claimed that his former manager was a 'bully' in his autobiography.

He told the 'Quickly Kevin; will he score? The 90s Football Show' in 2022: "After I'd left United, he [Ferguson] sort of said to me: 'Listen, you've never been any trouble at this club, thanks for your services. If ever you need anything, you know we're here'.

"And obviously, when I retired I did a book and put in the book that he was a bully, and I'd heard he fell out with me because of that."