Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he wished he had met Pep Guardiola a few months earlier in 2012 in an attempt to convince the Spanish tactician to become the club’s manager.
Ferguson made the revelation in his book, Game of Life, reflecting on a dinner he had with Guardiola in New York in 2012, shortly before the latter took charge of German giants Bayern Munich.
According to Ferguson, the timing of their meeting was unfortunate, as he had yet to make a final decision about his retirement from Manchester United, while Guardiola was already considering a move to the Bundesliga after his successful spell at Barcelona.
The former Barcelona manager had enjoyed remarkable success during his four years in charge of the Catalan club, winning multiple domestic and European titles, including the UEFA Champions League.
Reflecting on the missed opportunity, Ferguson wrote that he had often wondered what might have happened if their meeting had taken place a couple of months earlier.
“At the time, I hadn’t decided for certain that I was going to retire. And Pep was convinced that, after achieving huge success in just four years in La Liga, he wanted to try life in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich,” Ferguson wrote.
The legendary Scottish manager added that he would have done everything possible to persuade Guardiola to move to Manchester United had they met earlier.
“If I could rewind time, we would have dined some months earlier, I would have poured plenty of Italian wine, and I would have tried my hardest to convince him that his future lay in Manchester,” he stated.
Ferguson concluded his reflection by acknowledging that events ultimately worked against Manchester United, as Guardiola went on to join Bayern Munich in 2013.
Guardiola later took charge of Manchester City in 2016, establishing a successful tenure at Old Trafford’s cross-city rivals and adding another chapter to his rivalry with Manchester United.
Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season after guiding Manchester United to another Premier League title, bringing an end to his 26-year reign at the club.
The revelation offers a glimpse into how Manchester United might have pursued Guardiola during the transition following Ferguson’s retirement, although it remains unclear whether an earlier meeting would have changed the course of events.
