Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to Luke Littler's dad and gave him crucial piece of advice that could 'make' his career

Sir Alex Ferguson gave Luke Littler's dad, Anthony, some words of advice when they bumped into each other at a Manchester United game.

It has been a whirlwind 12 months for newly-crowned world champion Littler, who lifted the Sid Waddell trophy this month following a convincing 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the final.

It was a dominant display that summed up his superb form of late. Since arriving on the professional scene Littler has lifted 10 PDC titles, including the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts.

Many would agree he deserves to be classed as the world's best based on stats but even after such a successful run at the Alexandra Palace, Littler has refused to describe himself as the best.

“I won’t say I’m the best," he told reporters after the World Championship win over Van Gerwen. "Maybe stats wise I might be the best, but I’ll never say it."

It was a humble side to Littler that former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson encouraged last year, when he told Anthony Buckley, Luke's dad, to keep the teenager grounded.

Littler has previously revealed what Ferguson said after he was invited to be a special guest at Old Trafford for United's Premier League clash against Spurs.

"Warrington Wolves invited me down and I went to the Manchester United game and met Sir Alex Ferguson," he said. "To meet him was amazing and he said some lovely things to me about staying dedicated and believing in myself."

Speaking to the Daily Mail in a more recent chat, Littler gave an insight into what Ferguson told his father, Anthony, at the time.

He said: "When I met Sir Alex Ferguson, I think he told my dad to keep me grounded."

Ferguson was in the Old Trafford crowd alongside Littler in January last year. Image credit: Getty

Littler also opened up on some of the people he has looked up to growing up, including former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney.

"Phil Taylor is someone I idolised,’ he says. "Cristiano Ronaldo is another. But Wayne Rooney is above them all.

"I spoke to Wayne when we were playing FIFA one time. On a video chat. He was fine. He asked, “Is Luke there?” because I wasn’t talking. This was at the start of last year. I was thinking I can’t talk to Wayne Rooney. But then off we went in the end."