Sir Alex Ferguson hit me on the head with a cricket bat when I told him I was moving house, says ex-Man Utd ace
SIR ALEX FERGUSON once hit one of his former Manchester United defenders with a CRICKET BAT.
The legendary Scotsman, 81, retired in 2013 after 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.
During that period he guided the club to 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League triumphs.
Fergie managed a host of star names in that period as well as many talented players he helped nurture through from the academy.
One of those was former England international defender Wes Brown, who spent 19 years with United from boy to man.
The now 43-year-old, who went on to play for Sunderland, Blackburn and Kerala Blasters, looked up to the fiery Ferguson as a mentor.
However, he has now revealed one terrifying incident that occurred after he informed his old boss that he was looking to move house.
When asked on the Football Social Daily podcast if Ferguson really did hit him with a cricket bat, Brown replied: “Correct.”
He continued: “Yeah he used to have this little cricket bat, I don’t know if it was signed by an Australian or New Zealand player.
“He told me I had to move and I told him where I was going to move to. Then he hit me with a cricket bat.”
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However, Brown was quick to play down the ferocity, saying: “It’s a little one, just a little whack over the head. Saying that, he still whacks me now when I see him.”
Brown added: “He told me I had to move from Longsight.
“And then I told him I was looking for places in the city centre, which provoked the whack.”
Brown also revealed how a fight on a bus led to his biggest telling off from Fergie and a pay rise.
He said: “I turned pro at 17 and started playing at 18, and in that time I still hadn’t signed another contract, so I was probably on about £250 a week. And then I had a fight on a bus going home because I got the bus everywhere, the 192 into Piccadilly.
“Something happened on the bus and my manager (Ferguson) found out and he said to me ‘what the f*** are you doing on the bus?’
“I said, ‘I’ve always got the bus, boss’ and he’s shouting at me for getting a bus and telling me to get a taxi.”
He added: “I explained to him that I couldn’t afford a taxi because that would be £14 a day, £7 from my house to Salford.
“Still living with my mum and I need to give her some money and buying snide Ralph Laurens to go out.
“He stopped shouting at me after that. And he was like ‘yeah, well we’ll sort that out’. And that’s pretty much how that went. So the actual incident got forgotten about so I was happy about that.”
Brown had a glittering career at Old Trafford winning an array of titles including five Premier Leagues and three FA Cups.
He is also part of a small group of United players who have won the Champions League twice having lifted the famous trophy in 1999 and 2008.
The defender retired in 2018 with Indian side Kerala Blasters and has since returned to Old Trafford on occasions working for MUTV.