Owen Hargreaves' classy response to Alex Ferguson's scathing criticism of him at Man Utd

In 2007, Owen Hargreaves was one of the most sought-after midfielders in world football.

Despite the fact he’d missed the majority of his final season at Bayern Munich with a broken leg, everyone knew how good the Canada-born maestro was.

Manchester United were clearly aware as they decided to spend £17 million on him in the summer of 2007.

And after the conclusion of the 2007/08 season, the transfer appeared to be a bit of a masterstroke by Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Hargreaves enjoyed a fine campaign, scoring a free-kick in a crucial Premier League home match against Arsenal and playing the full 120 minutes in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

He even scored his penalty during the drama-filled shootout in the Moscow rain.

But after 2007/08, injuries completely ruined Hargreaves’ United career. The midfielder-turned-pundit made just five appearances in all competitions over the course of the next three seasons.

Because of that, Ferguson took aim at Hargreaves in his autobiography with some fierce criticism.

The Scotsman wrote: “When I signed him there was something about him I didn’t like. It turned out to be a disaster.”

Ouch. Ferguson also slammed Hargreaves for apparently not having “nearly enough determination” and always opting “for the easy choice” in training sessions at Carrington.

Soon after the release of the book, Hargreaves was asked to give his taken on the criticism by BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey and the former United player refused to let his emotions get the better of him.

Take a look at his classy response here…

“For it (our relationship) to deteriorate like that was very disappointing and I think it’s a conversation he and I need to have personally,” Hargreaves said.

“Anyone who knows me