In an interview, Lee Sharpe reveals how Ryan Giggs once hid in a cupboard to avoid the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Throughout his managerial career, the long-time Manchester United head coach developed a reputation for his fearsome aura. Renowned for his ‘hairdryer treatment’, he was a man who you did not want to disappoint.
But under the influence of Lee Sharpe, Giggs made a decision that would render the boss furious.
While going out is part and parcel of the lifestyle of men in their twenties, professional footballers must resist and concentrate on their craft.
But one night, Sharp and Giggs apparently decided to go to a house party.
Sir Alex Ferguson ambushes the social gathering
Thinking they’d got away with the situation scot-free, they planned to head to a club in Stockport.
But just before leaving, they heard a knock at the door and to their astonishment, it was Ferguson. Someone had dobbed them in.
And Sharpe can still recall the fear of encouraging the enraged Scotsman.
He told NewCasinoUK: “I only found out about 12 months ago that it was Giggsy’s mum that rang him! But we were getting ready to go out – me, Giggsy, a few of his mates and a few apprentices all getting ready to go out and waiting for a taxi.”
He continued, “The doorbell goes, and I think it’s the taxi, but it ended up being the manager. He kicked everybody out of the house, smacked them round the head and then gave me and Giggsy the biggest rollicking of our lives, we thought we were going to get sacked”
Read: Lee Sharpe wants Manchester United to sign Harry Kane (sporf.com)
What happened to Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe?
Despite trying to avoid the boss, Sir Alex ultimately forgave the winger and his accomplice. However, they had to see him in his office first.
Sharpe confessed: “We had to go and see him again the next day, he said ‘Right, I’ll see you two at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning’, so we were back in his office.”
He continued, “I hardly slept, and I called my mum and dad and said I think I’m gonna get the sack. Went in and took another rollicking, and then he said, ‘Right, get out of my office; behave yourselves; I’ve got a team to pick’.
Throughout his time at Old Trafford, the striker apparently went toe-to-toe with the manager on numerous occasions.
He confessed: “I had a few in the dressing room. I think my most famous one was when I was 18, away at Anfield.
“I’d moved my girlfriend up from Birmingham, and at half-time, he came in and said, ‘You can’t run, you can’t head it, you can’t pass it. You’re moving house – you’re going back into digs, and your girlfriend is going back to Birmingham. You’re useless. Go out there second half and show me that you can play’. As an 18-year-old kid at Anfield, I go back out there and had a shocking next 20 minutes, got dragged off, and that was the end of that!”
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