Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement: Football world pays tribute to the outgoing Manchester United boss
After Sir Alex Ferguson announced on Wednesday that he will bow out as Manchester United manager at the end of the season, the tributes have been flooding in for the most successful manager in the history of British football...
PSG star and former Manchester United midfielder David Beckham:
"As I have said many times before the boss wasn't just the greatest and best manager I ever played under he was also a father figure to me from the moment I arrived at the club at the age of 11 until the day I left. Without him I would never have achieved what I have done in my career. He understood how important it was to play for your country and he knew how much it meant to me. After '98 without the manager I would have found it virtually impossible to cope with the attention I was getting on and off the field and for this I will always be grateful to him for his support and protection. I am truly honoured to have been guided by the greatest manager in football and to have had the career that I had under him. Thank you boss and enjoy the rest!"
Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton:
"He is such a fantastic manager. Everything he has done has been fantastic. He is a sensational person in every form and I am really delighted for him. I am a director but I hardly do anything because we are winning all the time and it is all down to Sir Alex Ferguson. He would get up in the middle of the night and travel 300 miles if he thought there was a school boy that he could sign. He loves the game and we at the club have had nothing to do really."
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel:
"I'm shocked - I just can't make sense of the timing. It has come as a bombshell, I really don't know what to make of it. Yesterday I was really happy with what he had done this season, now this, I'm disappointed and very sad. He's always said the day would come when something in his life wasn't right, is it is hip operation [he will have this summer]? I can't see him retiring over that. [Until] he explains why, we can guess and guess. There is something there we don't know about, he won't retire for the sake of retiring, it is difficult to makes sense of it."
Outgoing Manchester United chief executive David Gill:
"Alex's vision, energy and ability have built teams - both on and off the pitch - that his successor can count on as among the best and most loyal in world sport. The way he cares for this club, his staff and for the football family in general is something that I admire. It is a side to him that is often hidden from public view but it is something that I have been privileged to witness in the last 16 years. What he has done for this club and for the game in general will never be forgotten."
Hull manager and former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce:
“He will be missed hugely around the place. He has just got this amazing presence. What he has won and achieved in 27 years will never be repeated. He is undoubtedly the greatest there has ever been.”
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke:
"Whenever he decided to leave the football club it was always going to be a massive blow to everyone because he has played such an enormous part in Manchester United’s success. He has been there for 26 years, he has been part of the furniture for such a very long time and for him not to be there at the beginning of the new season is going to be a massive blow for everyone."
Former Manchester United defender Paul McGrath:
“No matter who comes in it’s impossible to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson. It can’t be done in modern day football. He’s made them the top world football team and the respect around the globe that Man United has built is down to Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s a sad loss for football."
Football Association chairman David Bernstein:
"Sir Alex Ferguson's achievements are truly remarkable - he is genuinely one of the greatest managers of all time and certainly of the modern era. His contribution to English football has been outstanding in every regard and, in the FA's 150th year, it is something that should be celebrated. On behalf of the FA I'd like to wish him a happy and healthy retirement."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore:
"No one has made as great a contribution to the Premier League than Sir Alex Ferguson. His drive, ambition, skill, passion and vision have not only shaped Manchester United, but in many ways the game of football as we now know it. He is universally respected by his peers right across the world game and I am sure that even fans of rival clubs will appreciate how remarkable his many achievements have been. It was always unrealistic to expect Sir Alex to keep going forever, but he has built something substantial and lasting at Manchester United and his values will continue to resonate throughout the club for many years to come. That will be his permanent legacy to English football. Whatever the Premier League has become, Manchester United is its standard bearer and Sir Alex their talisman. Whatever the future holds, one thing is for certain, it will not be the same without him."
UEFA president Michel Platini:
"Sir Alex has made a massive contribution to football, not only in Scotland and in England, but across Europe and beyond. His dedication, his attention to detail and his unique eye for talent, as both the manager of Manchester United FC and Aberdeen FC, has brought rich rewards over a 30-year period. His CV is almost unique in a results-based profession that normally focuses on short-term solutions rather than long-term vision. He is a true visionary and I hope that, having helped us in the past through various coaching initiatives, he will continue to collaborate with UEFA to share his fantastic knowledge with the next generation of up-and-coming European coaches who all wish to emulate his achievements in the sport."
Former Manchester United and England striker Michael Owen:
"United with no Sir Alex just doesn't feel right. What a man and great that it has ended on his terms. What a privilege to have played under arguably the best manager the world has ever seen."
Prime Minister David Cameron:
"Sir Alex Ferguson's achievement at MUFC has been exceptional. Hopefully his retirement will make life a little easier for my team AVFC."
QPR manager Harry Redknapp:
“To have that long at a great club like Manchester United and be so successful is an amazing achievement. He’s just gone on every year winning trophy after trophy.”
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert:
“If anybody can get anywhere close to what he has done then they will have done incredibly well. To be in one job for 25 years and won the amount of trophies he has done, the way he has built team after team after team – I’d love to know how he has done it.”
Watford boss and former Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola:
"It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have had him in front of me, first as a player and then as a manager. He is simply the best, there is no other adjective to describe him. He has been outstanding in what he has done. I always remember the first time I faced him as a colleague with West Ham, it was quite emotional for me as he has always been someone I looked up to. We will miss him, that's for sure, but we can only say thank you for what he has done because it has been remarkable. It will be tough to replace him but I am sure he will still be around to help because I know how much he cares about the club."