How Sir Alex Ferguson proved Rio Ferdinand wrong at Manchester United

to United.Ferguson gave the Portuguese "one piece of advice" during his United tenure, which was to swoop for the Spurs playmaker, whose first game against United was as a teenager for MK Dons in the now infamous 4-0 League Cup defeat in 2014. An 18-year-old Alli ran riot against a second string United side that night.That was against Louis van Gaal's United and it's clear Alli made an impression on Ferguson, even after he then moved to Tottenham, as Mourinho revealed.

straight to your inboxIf anything is bound to worsen the mood of Manchester United supporters it is they are three days away from taking their longest to sign a player in the summer for 12 years.United are still some way off from feeling pain worse than a hip replacement - Sir Alex Ferguson's colourful description of negotiations with Daniel Levy over Dimitar Berbatov in 2008.

straight to your inboxRyan Giggs has heaped praise on former Manchester United coach Carlos Quieroz for his role in helping the Reds defeat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final.Sir Alex Ferguson guided his United team to the final in Moscow after knocking out Barcelona and took an early lead through Cristiano Ronaldo's header.

straight to your inbox Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Manchester United 'lost their way' after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. Ferguson botched the managerial handover in 2013 by anointing David Moyes, who lasted 10 months before the authoritarian Louis van Gaal took over.

straight to your inbox Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken says Guillermo Varela is not nasty enough as he prepares to face former club Manchester United in the Europa League quarter-final. Varela became the first United signing after Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013 but did not make his debut until December 2015.

straight to your inboxPaul Scholes believes that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is following in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson by handing opportunities to young players at Manchester United.Teden Mengi became the eighth academy graduate to make his debut for United this season, the first time that tally of debutants from the youth ranks has been hit since the 1950s.United have a proud history of blooding academy players into the first-team, evidenced by Mason Greenwood's and Marcus Rashford's rises to

straight to your inbox Rio Ferdinand got Manchester United fans excited as he dug up an old tweet posted by Jadon Sancho. MEN Sport revealed last week Inter Milain were confident of securing a permanent deal for Alexis Sanchez, 31, early in the transfer window and the Chilean's move to Italy could accelerate Sancho's move to United.

straight to your inboxHere are the Manchester United evening headlines for Sunday, August 2.Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes that Sir Alex Ferguson got it tactically wrong during both the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.The Reds were defeated in both games by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, losing 2-0 in 2009 and 3-1 at Wembley two years later.And Rooney, who scored United’s equaliser in the 2011 final, believes the club should have approached both games in a more pragmatic

straight to your inbox Nemanja Vidic has hailed the unseen impact of Edwin van der Sar on his partnership with Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the Manchester United defence. Vidic and Ferdinand struck up an iconic partnership in the United backline under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning five Premier League titles together and making a combined 755 appearances for the club.

straight to your inboxWayne Rooney believes Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals were wrong.United went into the 2009 final in Rome as defending champions but were beaten despite having early chances, with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi securing a 2-0 win for Barcelona.

straight to your inbox Nemanja Matic insists Manchester United are aiming to challenge for the Premier League title next season. United finished third in the recent domestic season to qualify for the Champions League after an unbeaten 14-match league run that stretched back to January.