Iconic former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson personally reached out to one Manchester City-supporting sports legend before the “big” moments in his career.
Sir Alex Ferguson enjoyed an incredible reign at Manchester United and left Old Trafford in 2013 after calling it time on his decorated managerial career.
The 82-year-old Scotsman led United to a whopping 13 Premier League titles, including the Red Devils becoming the first English team to win a continental treble.
Ferguson, who is one of the best managers of all time, was widely admired for his achievements in the sport and left behind a long-lasting legacy at United.
The iconic Scot had no love lost for United’s rivals during his iconic spell at the Red Devils, with Ferguson relishing in his joy of knocking Liverpool ‘off their perch.’
The resilient Ferguson also fought back against the rising Manchester City at the time after Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of United’s rivals in 2008.
Ferguson is even deeply admired by his rivals in football, with City boss Pep Guardiola dropping the ultimate praise on the former United manager.
Ferguson contacted Man City superfan
Despite his staunch allegiance to Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was a class act to different people both in the dugout and long after his retirement.
Ricky Hatton is a loyal Manchester City fan and the 45-year-old Stockport-born native had a prolific career in the sport of boxing.
The boxing legend enjoyed an incredible 43-fight winning streak as a professional boxer before he tasted defeat at the hands of Floyd Mayweather in 2007.
Ricky Hatton suffered back-to-back defeats against Manny Pacquiao and Vyacheslav Senchenko before he called it time on his illustrious career in the sport.
The ‘Hitman,’ who won 45 of his 48 pro fights, admitted he was “lucky enough” to receive support from both Manchester teams in his career.
Hatton revealed that Ferguson was among the people who supported him, with the United legend making phone calls to him before “big fights” in his career.
“I was lucky enough for lots of players to come and see my fights, from both the blue and the red sides of Manchester,” he told FourFourTwo magazine.
“It kind of brought the city together. Paul Dickov, Micah Richards and Nicky Weaver would all be regulars, and Michael Carrick, Nicky Butt and Wayne Rooney from United.
“I had incredible support from Manchester in general. I also used to get a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson before big fights, wishing me good luck from himself and the team, which was a class act.”
Hatton on Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney, who is a big fan of boxing, famously took part in Hatton’s ring walk for the City fan’s title defence against Jose Luis Castillo in 2007.
Hatton scored a sensational fourth-round KO win over Jose Luis Castillo at the time and added the vacant WBC International light-welterweight title to his collection.
The former boxing star, who notched up his 43rd career win against Castillo, revealed that he deeply admired the boxing-loving Wayne Rooney.
“I’ve always liked Wayne,” Hatton added.
“He is no-nonsense and has no airs and graces. He played football with his heart on his sleeve and I like to think that I boxed in that fashion as well.”