Why Paul Pogba left Manchester United

“It was a good process”.

He tells Cantona that his replacement, Teddy Sheringham, is still getting used to life at United. It was utter dominance at times but it was Ferguson who was key in all that, with his strong attitude and tough personality ensuring the players gave it their all in every single game.

Ferguson received a raucous reception and a few chants of “Red Army” before he amused his audience with tales from his years at United.

“A leader who arrives in a new setting, or inherits a big role, needs to curb the impulse to display his manhood“. I thought he would have been absolutely flawless for United. It was his mere presence and his ability to make and score goals.

Other revelations include the disclosure that Ferguson considered a move for Mario Balotelli in 2010.

“Leading” details how the aftermath of a contract saga involving Wayne Rooney led to Ferguson becoming established at the top of the Old Trafford payroll.

Ferguson, one of the greatest managers in the history of football, successfully negotiated a pay rise to £250,000 a week after Rooney signed a new contract in 2010.

“He has a point, there is no question about that, and I think we’d like to see more home-grown talent”, Ferguson said.

Although United have struggled since his retirement, Ferguson now believes United are “not far away” from winning the Champions League under Louis van Gaal.

Ferguson also revealed that Everton pulled out all the stops to prevent Rooney joining United in 2004. “She felt very lonely after the loss of her sister and told her I was going to leave to be with her”, he said. We all have our different philosophies, beliefs, ways of doing things, how we pick teams and the quality of players we are looking for and enjoy.

Balotelli subsequently joined Manchester City from Inter Milan, returning to Italy for a second spell at AC Milan this year following a disappointing season with Liverpool.

Another person Ferguson found hard to deal with was Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who proved particularly troublesome to the Scot during deadline day negotiations in 2008 for Dimitar Berbatov.

United received just £800,000 in compensation for Pogba, who spent three years with the club after signing from French club Le Havre.