Open war at Man Utd

Outburst: Sir Alex Ferguson

14 April 2012

Outright war broke out at Manchester United today as manager Sir Alex Ferguson sensationally hit back at the club's biggest shareholders.

Following weeks of allegations over Sir Alex's transfer dealings by Irish racing tycoons John Magnier and J P McManus, the United boss furiously defended his reputation and claimed he had been forced to call in the police.

It came after it was revealed that the Irish duo, who own 25 per cent of the world's biggest football club, had written to the club's board questioning virtually every major transfer in the last six years.

It is the relationship between Sir Alex and his agent son Jason, who has allegedly been involved in these major deals, that is being scrutinised.

The background to the battle is Sir Alex's dispute with millionaire Mr Magnier over the stud rights to the champion racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.

A furious Sir Alex hit back this afternoon. "This is distressing," he said. "My son has had a terrible time. People have been stealing his mail, going through his binbags and hiding in bushes. In the end he has had to call the police in.

"It is all a result of what we are reading about in terms of the transfer stuff.

"It is incomprehensible that I would abuse my position at this club. I have been here for 17 and a half years and nobody has ever raised a doubt about that.

"All of a sudden because of a private matter about a racehorse it is all coming out. It is not easy to take."

The horse row has escalated into a full-scale attack on not only the manager but the United board, who have refused to give in to their demands for answers to how the club is run. The whole row has become so bitter that the Irish pair have hired corporate detectives Kroll to look into every aspect of Sir Alex Ferguson's personal and professional life, after he took out a legal action claiming he is half-owner of the stud rights to the horse, which could amount to more than £200million.

The long-serving United chief feels his integrity has been called into question by Mr Magnier and Mr McManus, who wrote to club chairman Sir Roy Gardner requesting answers to 99 questions, mainly concerning the role of agents in 15 recent transfers.

Among their demands, Mr Magnier and Mr McManus - who own a quarter of the club - wanted assurances that no relative of any club executive was involved in any transfers, following media claims that associates of Jason Ferguson's Elite Sports Agency have profited from some of them.

Elite itself has been directly involved with several United transfers most notably Jaap Stam's move to Lazio.

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