Sir Alex Ferguson is the most decorated manager in football history, having won a staggering 49 titles during his highly celebrated career on the sidelines, including 13 Premier Leagues and two Champions Leagues with Manchester United.
Known for his precise recruitment and ability to nurture promising youngsters into superstars, Ferguson is widely regarded as the greatest football coach of all time, having overseen the most dominant Man United era ever and turned them into a dominant force in England and Europe over his 27-year tenure.
However, even the greatest are sometimes unable to avoid slip-ups and Ferguson once reminisced about the time he rejected a chance to sign a player who went on to become a Premier League legend.
Back in 2003, the Scottish tactician traveled to France to watch the promising goalkeeper in action but felt he was ‘a bit young for the bruisers’ in the Premier League.
Sir Alex Ferguson Snubbed Signing Petr Cech
‘We thought Petr was a bit young’
Petr Cech
Ferguson, as once quoted by GIVEMESPORT, revealed he snubbed the chance to sign former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech in 2003 after going to see him play for Rennes:
“I went to see him in 2003 for Rennes.
“We thought Petr was a bit young for the bruisers in the Premier League.”
Man United struggled to replace Peter Schmeichel after the Danish goalkeeper left Old Trafford following the treble-winning season in 1999, as the likes of Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard all disappointed and failed to establish themselves as regular starters.
While their goalkeeping situation was ultimately resolved with Edwin van der Sar’s arrival in 2005 – the Dutchman went on to become one of the greatest Premier League shot-stoppers ever – signing Cech may have been an even stronger option back in 2003.
At the time, Cech was emerging as one of Europe’s most promising young goalkeepers with plenty of upside, and it only took another year before Premier League rivals Chelsea snapped him up for just €7million – an extraordinary value for money.
Cech went on to become one of the best goalkeepers in history during his 11-year stint at Stamford Bridge and led Chelsea to numerous domestic and continental titles, including four Premier Leagues, one Champions League and four FA Cups.
He made a total of 494 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, keeping 228 clean sheets and conceding 393 goals, and also won the Premier League Golden Glove three times (2005, 2010 and 2014).
The former Czech international departed West London in 2015 to join arch-rivals Arsenal, where he spent the final four seasons of his career and helped the Gunners win the FA Cup in 2017.
Statistics courtesy ofTransfermarkt. Correct as of 22-07-25.