Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Premier League
Josh Lawless
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Premier League
A former Manchester United star who was sold by Sir Alex Ferguson during training has come out of retirement at the age of 37.
Ferguson offloaded a number of players during his trophy-laden 26-year stint at Old Trafford but one departure happened in more slightly more unusual circumstances.
Darron Gibson joined United in 2004 and went on to make his senior debut in 2005, before spending time on loan at Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Known for his excellent long-range shooting, the Republic of Ireland international went on to play 60 times for United and won one Premier League as well as two League Cups.
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He moved to Everton in January 2012, being informed of the move by Ferguson during a training session.
Gibson was called back into the bootroom to speak with Ferguson after taking part in a rondo on the pitch and encouraged to pursue a transfer to the Toffees, who had expressed interest in signing him.
“I had done some stuff in the gym, put my boots on and started doing the rondo box, some keep ball," Gibson recalled in the interview with The 42.
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“I was told the gaffer wanted to see me back inside by the bootroom. I jogged back in, the gaffer was there sitting down getting ready to go out. There was no one else there.
He said Everton were in for me and wanted me.
“I asked him what he thought and he said I should go for it. I just said, ‘What, like, now?’ The gaffer said, ‘Yeah, now, give your agent a ring and you can go now’. I was like, ‘Alright, sound’.
“We shook hands, I said ‘Thanks very much’, took off my boots, got changed, drove to Everton’s training ground, and David Moyes said the deal needed to be done by 12 to play that weekend against Aston Villa. The medical was about an hour and that was it done.
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“It worked out better that way. It was quick, there were no bad feelings or intentions. It was fair enough.”
Gibson played 69 games in an injury-hit spell on Merseyside and later turned out for Sunderland, Wigan Athletic and Salford City.
He retired in 2021 not long after suffering a broken leg, continuining a wretched luck with injuries.
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Gibson, who developed an addiction to sleeping pills following a knee injury which led to insomnia and suffered from alcohol abuse, dedicates time to raise awareness.
But he has also been featuring in various charity games for Everton and United's foundation, as well as the Masters Football tournament.
But has now made a permanent return to the game, making his debut for Wythenshawe Town in a 3-1 win over AFC Liverpool on 13 September.
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The club teased the signing in a viral TikTok which garnered 700,000 views and showed him walking out onto the pitch.
Gibson does not appear to have featured for Wythenshawe since his first outing.