At this point, Alex Ferguson’s history of rows at Manchester United is pretty well documented. Paul Ince, David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Roy Keane – no matter how good you are if you cross Sir Alex you’ll find yourself shipped out. Ruud Van Nistlerooy joined the gang last season after months of rumours of a riff, and the Dutchman has confirmed the lot,
“It started at the Carling Cup final, after an hour we were 4-0 ahead,” van Nistelrooy told the News of the World.
“I could not wait to get on as a substitute, to play half an hour and maybe score a goal and then go and lift the cup.
“It’s a big trophy after all, but first Kieran Richardson was put on.
“After that Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, and Evra had only been at the club a few weeks.
“I exploded and started swearing at Ferguson. That was the killing moment.
“It was both our faults but we never made up after that. The relationship fell apart.”
“I do consider it kind of tragic,” van Nistelrooy added.
“After all, Ferguson was the man who was there for me during my serious knee injury at PSV Eindhoven and even came to my sick bed.”
“The way it all went down in the end does say something about the football world.
“But to me that does not permit you to treat people that way.”
Despite the fact that Ferguson is the constant in all these spectacular fallings out, it’s a little hard to argue that it’s not working for him. The Scot seems to dislike those without a Neville brothers or Paul Scholes-like committment to football and nothing else, so if we’re honest it seems like a matter of when, not if, Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney stray just a little too far from the pack.