Man Utd legend Sir Alex Ferguson refused to speak to the BBC for SEVEN years in bitter dispute over his son

Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson went seven years without speaking to the BBC in a bitter feud over his son.

Back in 1986, Ferguson was appointed as Manchester United manager with one clear objective: to make the club successful.

The Scotsman did more than that, as he led the Red Devils to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues among other trophies.

Under the stewardship of Ferguson, United became a giant of the football world.

Back in 2004, Ferguson decided not to speak to the BBC after a documentary made allegations about his son, Jason.

As reported by The Guardian, Ferguson imposed a lifetime ban on the BBC in 2004 in protest at a documentary about Jason, who was then working as an agent.

At the time, it was stated that the United boss would only speak to the broadcaster again if they issued an apology for the documentary titled 'Fergie and Son'.

Sir Alex Ferguson is Manchester United's greatest ever manager. Image: Getty

It was claimed that under Premier League rules, Ferguson copped a fine every time he refused to speak to the BBC.

During Ferguson's BBC snub, assistant manager Mike Phelan would take up media duties with the corporation.

In addition, it was stated that Ferguson would sometimes avoid talking to all journalists after matches and only give interviews to the club's official channel, MUTV.

However, the ban was lifted after seven years. A statement by United from 2011 read: "Sir Alex Ferguson and the BBC have decided to put behind them the difficulties which led to Sir Alex feeling unable to appear on BBC programmes.

"This follows a meeting between Sir Alex and the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, and BBC North director Peter Salmon, and the issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.

"Sir Alex will now make himself available to the BBC for Match of the Day, Radio 5 Live and other outlets as agreed. No further comment will be made by either party on this issue."

The Guardian stated that neither side apologised but decided to put their differences aside.

A source said to the publication: "It wasn't about apologising, it was more a case of letting bygones be bygones, moving forward rather than dwelling on the past."