Sir Alex Ferguson hit the nail on the head when he predicted that two of his Manchester United players could reach world-class status at Old Trafford.
The 83-year-old former Manchester United manager called it time on his legendary management career in 2013 after a 26-year reign at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson engineered all 13 of the Red Devils’ Premier League title wins and the iconic Scotsman led United to their famous treble win in the 1998-99 campaign.
The legendary Scot is widely considered one of the best managers of all time and Ferguson had a real impact in England with United and in Scotland with Aberdeen.
Ferguson’s final season at Old Trafford as Red Devils manager culminated with United’s last Premier League title triumph in the 2012-13 campaign.
The former United and Aberdeen manager has been out of the dugout since his retirement, but Ferguson has remained an ever-present figure at Old Trafford.
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Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Why Sir Alex Ferguson predicted Man Utd legend Cristiano Ronaldo to reach world-class status
Sir Alex Ferguson claimed four Manchester United legends he had at Old Trafford in the past were the only “world-class” players he managed at the Red Devils.
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Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the four players that Ferguson put in the aforementioned claim and the former United manager placed incredible faith in him.
Ferguson brought Cristiano Ronaldo to England in 2003 after the Red Devils signed him from Sporting CP and the 40-year-old received the iconic United No 7 shirt.
Ronaldo’s stock value soared during his scintillating first spell at Old Trafford and the United and Real Madrid legend had a sensational impact in the Premier League.
Speaking in the Manchester United Opus, Ferguson had predicted that Ronaldo would be ‘up there’ in the world-class status and praised his incredible attributes.
“And I think Cristiano Ronaldo is going to be,” he said in 2006, as per Sky Sports.
“He’s playing in the hardest position, out wide, and never refuses to take the ball and attack players.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘argument’ for Man Utd legend Paul Scholes’ place in world-class conversation was spot on
Paul Scholes spent his entire legendary playing career at Old Trafford across two separate spells and was a key midfield influence for Ferguson at United.
The 50-year-old United legend achieved incredible success at the Red Devils and Paul Scholes is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time.
Scholes came through the ranks of the United youth academy in the 1990s and the former England international broke into the United first team under Ferguson.
Ferguson would later name Scholes as one of the four world-class United players he managed in his career, but that was long after his initial prediction in 2006.
The former United manager even went as far as to claim that Scholes was one of the “cleverest midfield” players in the club’s history amid his world-class “argument.”
“And there’s an argument for Paul Scholes, the cleverest midfield player we’ve ever had,” Ferguson continued.
“To work with such people has been an absolute pleasure. It’s fulfilled every aspiration.”
One of the famed ‘Class of ‘92 stars,’ Scholes was part of United’s last Premier League title-winning side before he called it time on his career for the second time.