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Sir Alex Ferguson Informed Manchester United Players Of His Retirement In Heartbreaking Speech

Sir Alex Ferguson Informed Manchester United Players Of His Retirement In Heartbreaking Speech

Word of his retirement got out in the media before Fergie told his players...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Michael Carrick has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson's informed his Manchester United players about his retirement in 2013 and it's pretty heartbreaking.

The legendary Scot bowed out with his 13th and final Premier League title, reclaiming the crown from rivals Manchester City after finishing 11 points.

He didn't actually want to call it a day but needed to be there for his wife, Cathy, following the death of her sister. She'd been the leader of the family for so long and he felt it was only right he support her in such a difficult time.

However, Fergie's biggest regret about it all was the fact that the news was leaked prior to him having the chance to tell his squad.

And so he gave a tear-jerking speech to his players at the Carrington training ground on a Tuesday, as Carrick recalls in his new book 'Between the Lines'.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"I took in every detail, the Boss began speaking and became quite emotional," Carrick writes.

"'Look boys, I didn't want to do it this way. I wanted youse [sic] to be the first to know. I'm really disappointed how it's come out.
"'I really did want to be telling you first, but I've been forced to tell you now because it's come out last night. Someone's leaked it.'

"He was fuming about that. There couldn't have been many people who knew.

"Sir Alex went on, 'Look boys, this is not something I've taken lightly.' He mentioned Lady Cathy's sister passing away.

"'I feel that I owe it to my wife to be with her and look after her. It's been unbelievable and thanks for everything, I've loved every minute. I don't really want to go, but I've got to take this decision.'

"You could see it was hard for him to finally say, 'This is it boys.'"

Very sad stuff indeed and you can only imagine how irate Fergie was that his group of players weren't the first to know.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Michael Carrick