Sir Alex Ferguson has announced he will retire as Manchester
United manager after 27 years at the club on a day that will redefine
the landscape of British football.
The 71-year-old moved to Old Trafford in 1986 and re-built United's
empire in spectacular fashion - winning an astonishing 49 trophies in
all.
But, after infamously 'quitting' 12 years ago, he has decided
to retire once and for all at the end of this season. He leaves having
won his 13th Premier League trophy - and reclaiming the title from the
'noisy neighbours' Manchester City.
United’s final match of the season, at West Bromwich Albion on May 19, will be the 1,500th of Ferguson’s tenure as manager.
Having
always cited his health as the primary factor in any decision to
retire, the club’s confirmation last Friday evening that Ferguson, who
had a heart pacemaker fitted in 2004, would undergo hip surgery in
August raised fresh doubt over his determination to continue in the
post.
As details of the proposed announcement today dripped
through late last night, officials at Old Trafford were not even taking
calls from journalists amid the frenzy of speculation.
Ferguson
then arrived for work as usual on Wednesday morning as he was seen
driving into United's Carrington training base at 6.50am.
Today's
announcement is seemingly at odds with Ferguson's programme notes last
weekend, when he wrote: ‘I don’t have any plans at the moment to walk
away from what I believe will be something special and worth being
around to see.
‘It’s always difficult in football to be absolutely
sure of the future because the game has a habit of tripping you up, but
I don’t live in a fantasy world and believe we have every reason to
feel confident about the future of Manchester United.
'My view
stems not from the euphoria of winning back the title we lost last
season, but on the way we did it and the make-up of our playing
personnel.’
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