Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes that five legendary former players perfectly epitomised Sir Alex Ferguson’s position on transfers at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out of Old Trafford as manager in 2013 after capturing Manchester United’s last Premier League title at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
The 82-year-old legendary ex-United manager was well known for bringing the best in class to Old Trafford, including the likes of Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Ferguson also failed in his attempt to sign legendary players in the past, despite the period of dominance he ushered in over English football at United.
Gary Neville spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford under Ferguson and previously opened up about the United legend’s rules over transfers.
Ferguson, who is regarded as one of the best managers of all time, engineered all 13 of United’s Premier League title triumphs and the club’s iconic treble win.
United have struggled to return to the back of English football after Ferguson’s retirement, with the club also criticised for their transfer handling in the past.
READ MORE: Man Utd did ‘better without’ the signing of ‘best player in the world’ under Sir Alex Ferguson
Neville on Ferguson and four players
Speaking on The Overlap, Gary Neville opened up about Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire to have the “best player in the Premier League” at Old Trafford.
The 49-year-old former Manchester United captain pointed to how Ferguson’s “philosophy” extended to having the “best British player” in the league.
Neville spotlighted Ferguson’s acquisition of two of his former United teammates, with both Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney arriving at Old Trafford under the Scot.
The ex-United right-back also touched on how Ferguson “tried” his best to sign England cult hero Paul Gascoigne and Premier League legend Alan Shearer.
Ferguson was a big admirer of Paul Gascoigne and tried to sign Gazza in the 1980s, while the United legend failed in his bid to land Alan Shearer in the 1990s.
“There was a philosophy, I think, of buying,” Neville said.
“He wanted to bring young players through, and he wanted the best player in the Premier League.
“I think if you had the best British player in the Premier League, he had to buy.
“Manchester United had to buy that player, and I think that’s why they always had to.
“They broke transfer records for [Roy] Keane, they broke transfer records for [Wayne] Rooney, they tried to sign [Alan] Shearer, tried to sign [Paul] Gascoigne.”
Neville on exceptions to Ferguson’s philosophy
Neville insisted that Ferguson would even make exceptions for players who weren’t British, especially if they were the best footballer in the Premier League at the time.
Ferguson famously engineered the signing of former Netherlands striker Robin van Persie from Premier League rivals Arsenal in 2012.
Signed for £24m from the Gunners, Robin van Persie scored an impressive 26 times in 38 Premier League appearances for United en route to the league title in 2013.
Neville pointed out that the 41-year-old Dutch former striker was a high-profile Ferguson acquisition, despite not being a British-born talent.
“So, if you think about what he tried to do, he had a clear philosophy every single year,” he continued.
“Even [Robin] van Persie, even though he wasn’t British, he tried to sign the best Premier League player – and more often than not, they were British back then, but obviously now they’re foreign players.”
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