Wayne Rooney has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson once refused to speak to his Manchester United players for two weeks on the back of a disappointing defeat.
The former Red Devils boss, who was in charge of the club for 27 years between 1986 and 2013, was known for setting high standards and his man management skills in a period that brought him and the club so much success.
In his tenure, United won 38 major trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League and five FA Cups. They have not won the Premier League again since his retirement.
The Scot did, though, also have a plethora of top players at his disposal throughout different eras of his tenue, be that Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Another one of his star names, meanwhile, Rooney, has given an insight into his behaviour when United lost a costly match against Portsmouth in 2008. It was an FA Cup quarter-final, and meant the missed out on winning the Treble after success in the Premier League and Champions League.
And Sir Alex didn’t take it well. Speaking on the BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the former United captain explained how the squad received the cold shoulder from the boss in the fallout.
Wayne Rooney has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson once did not talk to his Manchester United players for two weeks
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Alex Ferguson made a name for himself with his high standards and man management skills during his 27 years at United
‘There were times… when we played Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarter-final,’ Ferdinand began. ‘Tomasz Kuszczak got sent off and Rio went in goal.
‘We lost 1-0 at Old Trafford and it was the year we won the league and the Champions League. I think it was Middlesbrough and Cardiff in the semi-final and final for the Treble. Sir Alex Ferguson, for two weeks, he didn’t speak to us.
Host Kelly Somers pushed Rooney further, questioning how Ferguson would go about doing his job without speaking to his players.
‘We had games,’ Rooney continued. ‘He picked the team the day of the game.
‘You walked past him in the corridor and he wouldn’t look at you. Two weeks, because he knew that was a massive opportunity to win the Treble.
‘We just tried to stay away from him. If you saw him come down the corridor he’s go the other way.’
Ferguson had already won one Treble at United in the 1998-99 season, but the opportunity presented itself for the now-83-year-old to do so again with a different set of players.
Still, United would recover to win the Premier League again the following season as Champions ahead of Liverpool. After losing it to Chelsea to following year, they would again be champions in the 2010-11 season.
He took action after United lost 1-0 to Portsmouth in the FA Cup in 2008 in a game that saw Rio Ferdinand end up in goal
While Rooney is a footballing legend in his own right, his son, Kai, 15, has been trying to forge his own career in the game.
He recently took a major step in his bid to follow in his father Wayne’s footsteps as he earned a surprising call-up to United’s Under-19 squad.
Unfortunately, though, he has made the candid admission that ‘life can’t get worse’ as she shared a snap of himself on crutches to Instagram after suffering an injury.
The Red Devils academy prospect shared a photo to his Instagram Stories on Wednesday of himself wearing a boot accompanied with a heartbreaking caption.
It read: ‘Life can’t get any worse [crying emoji]’.
It’s currently unclear exactly what injury the youngster has picked up and how long it will keep him out of action.
Capable of playing as a striker or out wide, Kai impressed for United at the Super Cup NI in Northern Ireland earlier this summer – a tournament which his father Wayne player in many years ago for Everton.
Wayne and wife Coleen were ever-present throughout the tournament, cheering from the stands alongside their younger sons Kit and Cass.
