Sir Alex Ferguson insisted on 1000 IQ Man Utd contract clause that no other manager in world football had

Sir Alex Ferguson demanded a special clause in his Manchester United contract in a move which sums up the Scot.

Ferguson signed his first deal with United back in 1986 and lasted all the way until 2013 when he decided to finally retire from management after 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies.

He managed a whole host of superstar names during his tenure, including Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But towards the end of his spell at Old Trafford, Ferguson implemented a new rule which was sparked by a saga involving talisman Rooney.

In 2010, unhappy with the club's transfer dealings and perceived lack of ambition, Rooney expressed his wish to leave United and handed in a transfer request.

However, just two days later, he signed a new five-year deal and became United's highest-paid player in their history at the time with reported wages of £180,000-a-week.

Yet the contract renewal prompted Ferguson to hold discussions with United's top brass about his own deal.

In his 2015 book Leading, Ferguson revealed: "I told them I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I made. Joel Glazer said, 'I totally agree but what should we do?'. It was simple. We just agreed no player should be paid more than me."

Rooney signed a new contract mere days later after his transfer request. Image: Getty

Ferguson would never let anyone feel or behave like they were bigger than the club and took that into the pay structure.

Ferguson's Man United arrangement ended last year

Even when he was succeeded by David Moyes at United, Ferguson still had a contract which saw him paid £2.165 million per year for fulfilling global ambassadorial duties.

United's 2014 financial statements showed that Ferguson was being paid the figure after the arrangement was made in October 2013.

However, that contract was axed - with Ferguson informed that the decision was being taken due to cost-cutting measures in a face-to-face meeting with minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Ferguson's wage, effectively £40,000-a-week, made up 0.3 per cent of the club's annual revenue of £662 million at the time.

He still remains a non-executive director at United and has a table of eight on matchdays at the Theatre of Dreams.