Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is in line for a shock return to the dug-out, it has been claimed.
Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles with United, retired from management in 2013 after one final trophy.
He then became an ambassador for the club as well as a non-executive director, though United recently ended a long-standing £2.16 million arrangement with their most successful manager due to cost-cutting measures put in place by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.
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Ferguson returned to the dugout a few years back in 2019 when United played out a legends game against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford to mark the 20-year anniversary of their iconic treble win in 1999.
But it appears as though the Scot will be back on the bench in the near future. Former United, Villarreal, Fiorentina and Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi retired in 2023 but has decided to host a farewell game in Florence on March 22.
And the 38-year-old claims that Ferguson, who handed him his senior debut back in 2004, will be present in a coaching capacity.
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"Ferguson will be there as a coach," he said, as per The Sun.
"He was my first coach, I signed when I was 17.
"I only did three years with him and played little, but he immediately said yes and this shows what kind of person he is.
"I did little at United but he treats me like Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 1000 goals."
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Rossi made his debut for United in a League Cup tie against Crystal Palace in November 2004 and went on to play a further 13 times for the Red Devils, scoring four goals.
After loans with Newcastle and Parma, he signed permanently with Villarreal in 2007 and scored 82 goals in 192 appearances.
With his career plagued by injuries, he scored 19 goals in 42 appearances for Fiorentina and later turned out for Levante, Celta Vigo, Genoa, Real Salt Lake and SPAL.
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Rossi's "last dance" is to be played at the Stadio Franchi Stadium, with Gabriel Batistuta, Luca Toni, Antonio Cassano, Sebastien Frey and Borja Valero slated to appear in the sides.
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson
Josh Lawless