Sir Alex Ferguson claims late wife Cathy would have 'gone mad' if she knew how he spent £650,000 last week

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted his late wife Cathy would not have approved of the way in which he spent £650,000 last week.

Having retired back in 2013, the legendary former Manchester United manager spends a lot of his free time involved in horse racing these days.

The Scot has always been a racing fans and now has 32 racehorses, as well as a stud operation in Hemel Hempstead.

That very same operation bred Spirit Dancer, which landed the Bahrain International Trophy and gave 13-time Premier League winner Ferguson his "best moment in racing".

But the 81-year-old claims his late wife Cathy, who sadly passed away in October, would have "gone mad" with his last two purchases, which totalled £650,000.

Image: Getty

"Last week we bought two horses, one from Ireland - a pointer - and one from France," he told Gambling Zone.

"John Hales is the man who has all the contacts. We depend on John and we’ve bought some very good horses on his recommendation.

"They don’t come cheap now. We paid £450,000 for the French horse and £200,000 for the Irish horse. That’s £650,000 and I had to write quite a large cheque. One of my sons said, ‘What are you doing?’

"My late wife would have gone mad at me if she was alive if she knew the amount of money involved! I must say at the time when I started it was a big release for me.

Image: Getty

"I never give instructions to trainers or jockeys. I never interfere with a trainer. I would never let anybody interfere when I was a manager so why should I interfere with people who know better in racing."

The couple met in 1966 and had three children: eldest Mark, and twins Darren and Jason.

Ferguson's retirement a decade ago came after Cathy's twin sister Bridget passed away.