Sir Alex Ferguson had my back at Manchester United - but I couldn't repay record transfer fee

When your manager labels people 'f***ing idiots' in leaping to your defence then you know he's in your corner.

Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't shy in taking aim at the media and he staunchly defended Juan Sebastian Veron in the closing stages of his second United season.

"On you go. I’m not f****** talking to you," he said in May 2002. "He’s a f****** great player. You are f****** idiots."

Great player he might have been but by his own admission Veron didn't meet expectations during his time at Old Trafford. He had arrived for a then British transfer record fee of £28.1million in 2001 and while his first season was respectable enough, his form dipped the following campaign and he was sold on to Chelsea in 2003 for £15million.

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The Argentine had his moments in a United shirt with a strong start to his career leading him to claim the Premier League player of the month award amid four goals in his first eight games, while he caught the eye in Europe with the pace of the game more akin to what the playmaker had experienced on the continent.

But gradually his influence waned and the stand out moments were just that. Moments. He slammed home a fine goal against Tottenham in that memorble 2002 5-3 comeback win and scored a crucial goal to help defeat Arsenal a few months later.

Ultimately his career at United was one of what could have been, as the man himself explained in an interview with Four Four Two in 2021.

"In Italy I managed to have a more stable spell, but I know that my time in English football wasn’t the best," he said. "If