Sir Alex Ferguson ignored ex-Manchester United player hyped as next Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the Premier League’s greatest ever managers, had many great relationships with his players, but not with Wilfried Zaha.

Ferguson didn’t just win 13 Premier League titles as Manchester United manager, and two Champions Leagues, he also fostered positive relationships with some of the sport’s biggest superstars.

While Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken positively of the Scottish coach both during and after his Manchester United playing years, Wilfried Zaha — who was once compared to the Portuguese superstar by his former manager Ian Holloway — didn’t form the same relationship.

Zaha, who made an Old Trafford arrival in 2013, described his relationship with the Scotsman as non-existent, with the pair never having even a single conversation.

The now 33-year-old, who had set the Championship on fire with Crystal Palace before his Manchester United move, never had the chance to play under Sir Alex Ferguson after the Scot announced his retirement the season prior to his arrival.

The Ivory Coast international ended up being the legendary manager's final signing, but was immediately loaned back to Palace for the 2012/13 season after putting pen to paper.

Zaha made over 450 appearances for Crystal Palace across two spells, scoring 90 goals (Image: Getty)

When Zaha returned at the beginning of the 2013/14 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson had left the club and, stunningly, the pair had never had even a single conversation during transfer negotiations.

Neil Warnock, who managed the winger at Crystal Palace, told talkSPORT that Zaha relayed this information to him during a discussion about his time at Manchester United.

“I remember talking to him in the chairman’s office. I said to him, ‘Did you get on alright with Sir Alex?’. He said, ‘He never spoke to me once,’” revealed Warnock.

“He was only a young lad and went there and didn’t get a lot of help,” the 77-year-old continued.

Zaha’s United career was rough and short-lived, making only four appearances and eventually being told by Ryan Giggs that he wasn’t good enough for the club.

The now 33-year-old went on loan to Cardiff City, after falling out of favour in Manchester with another Scot, David Moyes, before being brought back to Palace on loan by Warnock.

Zaha scored on his first game back for the Eagles, then went on to net 68 Premier League goals for the club, winning their Player of the Year award in three successive seasons.

The Ivory Coast international’s former manager, Ian Holloway, described the winger as “the most talented person I’ve ever seen with a football,” before comparing Zaha to Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

“If you look at Cristiano Ronaldo when he first went to Manchester United, I felt Wilf would be able to do that with the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson,” said Holloway.

“From my point of view, the only thing that went wrong for Wilf is that Sir Alex retired that summer, because I wanted his experience. Wilf didn’t believe that he was as good as I believed he could be.”