Sir Alex Ferguson retires as Manchester United manager after 27 years
Baku, May 8 (AZERTAC). Sir Alex Ferguson will retire as Manchester United manager at the end of the season in the 27th year of a tenure that has made him the most successful in British football.
While he will become a United director and ambassador, the executive are now charged with having to appoint the successor to a man who has won 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, the Cup Winners` Cup, five FA Cups and four League Cups. In February, Ed Woodward, the incoming chief executive, said there was plan in place for when the Scot did step down.
Regarding his decision, Ferguson said: "The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time. It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long- term future of the club remains a bright one.
The sudden nature of Ferguson`s departure is in keeping with how the Scot stated he would leave the post after he trailed a first retirement during the 2001/2 season before performing a U-turn. However, earlier this year Woodward, who will replace David Gill as chief executive in the summer, said: "We have a view as to what that process [appointing a new manager] will look like in terms of finding a replacement and what type of manager we want and how and when we`ll go about it. But it`s in the drawer and long may it stay in the drawer."
It is understood that any successor to the Scot would be required by the club to have extended experience of managing in the Champions League, as well as expertise in handling a large budget and squad. These criteria would appear to rule out David Moyes, the Everton manager, with at least one senior executive unsure about his candidacy, despite Ferguson being an admirer - though earlier in the week bookmakers slashed the odds on him joining United, possibly as member of the backroom staff, this summer.
Other managers who may be of interest to United would include Real Madrid`s José Mourinho, though he appears favourite to take over at Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp, whose Borussia Dortmund team are in the Champions League final, and Malaga`s Manuel Pellegrini.
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