“Getting a lot of attention from the female population of Manchester” – Ex-Manchester United star says Alex Ferguson once warned his mom

Former Manchester United forward Lee Sharpe has revealed an interesting incident involving the club's legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Sharpe, now 52, played 241 times across competitions under Ferguson at Old Trafford, recording 31 goals and 28 assists between 1988 and 1996. He won 10 titles with the Red Devils, including three Premier League and as many FA Cups.

With the likes of Gary Pallister and Roy Keane, Sharpe enjoyed his time off the field with multiple drinking sessions. Moreover, Sharpe was also popular among the women in Manchester. That frustrated Ferguson to the extent that he called up Sharpe's mom to ask her to have a word with her son.

On the Undr The Cosh podcast (via Daily Star), Sharpe recalled:

"He (Ferguson) knew that team spirit and team bonding through a drink helped the team more than it hindered. I went to Leeds after, and I spoke to a couple of lads when we went away with England, and they were up to ten times worse than what we were getting up to. But because we under such a spotlight and the club was so big and Fergie was so strict, our team was reasonable well behaved."

Sharpe narrated the incident of Ferguson calling up the former's mom:

"He rang my mum. He said 'Mrs Sharpe, I'm just wondering if you could have a word with Lee'."

The mother replied:

"Have a word with Lee? He's not lived with us for five years. You're his manager, why don't you have a word with him, what's the problem?"

Ferguson said:

"He seemed to be getting a lot of attention from the female population of Manchester, and the problem is he's taking most of them up on their offer.'"

Nothing apparently happened after the call, as Sharpe concluded:

"Nobody ever pulled me about anything in the end, I just carried on my merry way!"

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Manchester United's Luke Shaw faces lengthy spell on sidelines

Luke Shaw of Manchester United looks on

Manchester United have made a lukewarm start to their 2023-24 campaign, winning one of their two Premier League games. They beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 but lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur.

Ahead of their third league game against Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday (August 26), full-back Luke Shaw sustained a muscular injury. The 28-year-old is expected to be out for a few weeks, which is a blow for the club.

As per Manchester Evening News, Shaw's injury is thought to be worse than originally expected. That means the Englishman could be on the sidelines for a while.

With back-up left-back Tyrell Malacia also suffering with an unspecified injury and Brandon Williams loaned out to Ipswich Town, Manchester United are without a first-choice left-back