Top 5 Players Who Had Rifts with Sir Alex Ferguson

#1 David Beckham

David Beckham is the darling of Old Trafford

Beckham was the absolute darling of Old Trafford. The fans revered the spiky youngster and he too loved the team and fans alike. The attacking midfielder was a gifted footballer who had the vision and passing range that delighted the manager.

Beckham was an extremely fit player, probably the fittest among those plying their trade in Old Trafford. The manager loved his professionalism and the attitude with which he played.

At his peak, Beckham had the class and ability to take on the best of midfielders and would dominate the proceedings of the game all by himself. He was the best crosser of the ball in the team and his work-ethic was adored by the manager.

Beckham was an incredibly hard-working footballer. In his young days, he spent hours and hours, working on his dead-ball abilities. His free-kicks were amazing too and the player absolutely justified his number seven shirt.

The question arises: Where did it all go wrong for David Beckham?

As Sir Alex says it, things started to change when the midfielder got married to Victoria Beckham. The gaffer says that Beckham was the only player who consciously tried to become a star outside the game.

There were incidents when the manager would cringe; like the media lining outside Carrington just because Beckham was getting a new haircut. His stylish nature did not go down well with Sir Alex as it started affecting the player’s approach too.

The tipping point came during the FA Cup final that Manchester United lost to Arsenal. Sir Alex hated losing against Arsene Wenger and Beckham failed to turn up big time in that match. He did not track back for Arsenal’s second goal and merely jogged his way back to his own half.

Running all around the ground, trying to create something out of nowhere and the urge to stop attacks had what made him famous in the first place. After the match, Sir Alex accidentally kicked a boot at Beckham when the English international failed to acknowledge his mistake.

According to Fergie, Beckham never accepted his mistakes. He had immense self-belief and always knew that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

The manager admired this attitude of his but that day was different. Beckham got a cut on his eyebrow and this created quite a scene in the locker room. The decision was made and Beckham was going to be sold to Real Madrid.

The Galactico policy was at its peak at that time and Perez eventually bought him for quite a hefty fee. Still, the player is still respected among the Old Trafford faithful while some rate him even higher than Cristiano Ronaldo.

There is no bad blood now and the duo can be seen together in many conferences and matches. However, Sir Alex and David Beckham did have quite a fight at one point in time.