Sir Alex Ferguson’s private message to Pep Guardiola as Man Utd icon shows class | Football | Sport

Guardiola touched down in Manchester in 2016, having previously taken charge of Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He will be spoken of in the same breath as Ferguson as one of the finest managers the game has ever seen. Ferguson had hung up his managerial hat three years before Guardiola was appointed at City, yet the two giants of the game had locked horns during the Spaniard’s reign at Barcelona. United faced Barca in both the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, suffering defeat on each occasion.

The Scot showed remarkable grace in defeat following the 3-1 loss in the 2011 final at Wembley, remarking: “In my time as manager, this is the best team we’ve faced – I think everyone acknowledges that and I accept that.”

Guardiola then revealed during his farewell City press conference on Friday that Ferguson had reached out to offer his congratulations on his remarkable stint in Manchester.

“One of the biggest compliments I had: I got a message from Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday. That made me so happy,” Guardiola said. When quizzed about the specifics of the message, he added: “A Scottish accent, I didn’t understand it! I will call him back. Congratulations for the trajectory and for what we achieved. It means a lot to me.

“He is the greatest in this country. The tenure, the time, and for many, many reasons… I’m happy that Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest could [see]… I’m pretty sure [to] Sir Alex we are not the ‘noisy neighbours’, we are the ‘neighbours’. Just ‘the neighbours’. And I’m happy that he has been watching.”

Back in 2009, Ferguson was quizzed on whether City could usurp United as Manchester’s dominant force, to which he memorably responded: “Not in my lifetime.” City have since claimed seven Premier League titles while United have failed to lift the trophy.

United have secured the FA Cup twice, the League Cup twice and the Europa League, yet a serious Premier League title challenge has remained beyond their grasp since Ferguson’s retirement.