Manchester United’s manager Alex Ferguson holds the English Premier League trophy following their English Premier League match against Blackpool at Old Trafford, northern England, in this May 22, 2011 file photo. Ferguson will retire at the end of the season after more than 26 years in charge, bringing to a close the most glittering managerial career in British football.
LONDON: Alex Ferguson will retire as Manchester United manager at the end of the season, the Premier League champions announced yesterday, ending the most successful managerial reign in English football.
The shock announcement led to a flurry of speculation about who would take on one of the most coveted jobs in world football, with Everton’s David Moyes widely tipped to replace his fellow Scot in the Old Trafford hotseat.
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, who established a friendly rivalry with Ferguson while in charge of United’s rivals Chelsea, has also been touted for the role.
However, Moyes was the odds-on favourite with all the leading British bookmakers.
Ferguson, 71, has guided United to 13 Premier League titles and two European Champions League crowns in 26 years in charge at Old Trafford that yielded an astounding 38 major trophies in total.
Rumours of Ferguson’s retirement only began circulating late on Tuesday, but he said it was a decision he had been considering for some time.
“The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time,” Ferguson said in a statement.
“It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so,” added Ferguson, who will bow out with United having wrested back the Premier League title this season from local rivals Manchester City.
Ferguson will remain at United as a director and club ambassador, and said he was confident he was stepping down as manager with the team in good shape.
“The quality of this league-winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level, whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long-term future of the club remains a bright one,” he said.
“Over the past decade, the Glazer family have provided me with the platform to manage Manchester United to the best of my ability,” he added in a reference to the club’s US-based owners.
David Gill, who forged a highly succesful partnership with Ferguson as United’s chief executive, paid tribute to the veteran manager.
“Alex’s vision, energy and ability have built teams -- both on and off the pitch -- that his successor can count on as among the best and most loyal in world sport,” said Gill, who is also leaving the club this season. Arguably the highlight of Ferguson’s career was the unprecedented Treble of 1999, which included the Premier League, FA Cup and a thrilling come-from-behind win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
Ferguson’s final game in charge will be away to West Bromwich Albion on May 19.
Former United winger Cristiano Ronaldo led the tributes from the players to have played under Ferguson at the club.
The Real Madrid superstar posted a picture on Twitter of his first day at Old Trafford with Ferguson in 2003, alongside the message: “Thanks for everything, Boss.”
Such has been Ferguson’s impact upon United, the club’s shares fell by more than four percent in early trading on the US Nasdaq exchange following the announcement of his retirement.
Bobby Charlton, one of the United directors who appointed Ferguson in 1986 and who persuaded the club’s board against sacking him four years later during a run of poor results, hailed a “sensational person”.
Ferguson is due to have a hip replacement operation after the end of the season and Charlton, a member of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup, said that had played a part in his retirement.
“He has made his decision on various grounds like (because of) his family and because of the hip operation he will have this summer,” said Charlton, who captained the United team that became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968.
Ferguson said Charlton’s backing had been crucial before he ended the club’s 26-year wait for an English title in 1993.
“In my early years, the backing of the board, and Sir Bobby Charlton in particular, gave me the confidence and time to build a football club, rather than just a football team,” Ferguson said yesterday.
The owner of several racehorses, Ferguson was due yesterday to have a day out with his players at the Chester racecourse near Manchester.
It is not the first time that Ferguson has announced he was quitting.
In 2002 it seemed as if Ferguson was on the brink of retirement, only for him to make a dramatic U-turn.
Ferguson forged his managerial reputation at Aberdeen, taking the Dons to a trio of Scottish league titles and the 1983 UEFA Cup’ Winners Cup before joining United in 1986. AFP
