Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that he refused to answer back to only one influential person in the world.
Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, who is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time, called it time on his illustrious coaching career in 2013.
The 82-year-old iconic Scotsman bowed out of Old Trafford after a remarkable 26-year reign, which included leading United to their last Premier League title.
Ferguson enjoyed unbelievable success during his time at United and achieved incredible feats, including leading the Red Devils to a continental treble in 1999.
The Scot had weathered the storm during the early period of his managerial run at United after he replaced former manager Ron Atkinson as head coach in 1986.
Despite walking away from United in 2013, Ferguson had initially announced his decision to leave Old Trafford at the end of the 2001-02 Premier League season.
However, the ex-United boss made a U-turn on his stance and continued to manage at the Red Devils, only adding to his legendary managerial run at Old Trafford.
Ferguson was well known for his infamous ‘hairdryer treatment’ of players at United and he was not afraid to summon them to his office for one of two reasons.
Rio Ferdinand even admitted only one person was allowed to make fun of Ferguson at United, while the former Red Devils boss ‘never shouted’ at one club legend.
But Ferguson, who managed ‘only’ four world-class players, never answered back to one person who was deeply influential in his life, both on the pitch and off it.
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Man Utd legend Ferguson’s special relationship
Sir Alex Ferguson has previously talked up the incredible influence his late wife, Lady Cathy Ferguson, had on his football career and his personal life.
Lady Cathy Ferguson tragically passed away last October at the age of 84, with the footballing world paying tributes at the time.
Lady Cathy influenced Ferguson to scupper a move to Tottenham in 1984 when he was Aberdeen manager, with the Scot moving to Old Trafford only two years later.
Ferguson’s late wife was also responsible for the former Aberdeen boss’ decision to make a stunning U-turn on his initial retirement claim at the Red Devils.
According to The Independent’s Jim White in 2023, Ferguson had claimed that Lady Cathy was the only person he had never answered back to in his life.
“There is,” Ferguson said, before adding: “only [one] person in the world I do not answer back to.”
Why Lady Cathy scuppered Ferguson’s Man Utd retirement
Ferguson had opened up on his relationship with Lady Cathy and how she persuaded him not to retire from football in 2002 after he made his announcement in 2001.
Speaking in his autobiography, Ferguson said that Lady Cathy told him: “One, your health is good.
“Two, I’m not having you in the house. And three, you’re too young anyway.”
Ferguson went on to lift six more Premier League titles and a second Champions League trophy with United after Lady Cathy forced him to pull the plug on his retirement.
When the former United boss did call it time on his career in 2013, Ferguson revealed that Lady Cathy “had no objection whatsoever” to his plan at the time.
“My wife, Cathy, has been the key figure throughout my career, providing a bedrock of both stability and encouragement,” he said.
“When I told her this time I was going to retire, she had no objection whatsoever. I knew she wanted me to do it.
“Words are not enough to express what this has meant to me.”