What Sir Alex Ferguson did for his most ruthless axing of a Man Utd player shocked legends

Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to abruptly sell Jaap Stam at Manchester United has been labelled as his most ruthless act by Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

After being instrumental to United's 1999 Treble season, the release of Stam's autobiography, 'Head To Head,' in 2001 caused a rift with Ferguson due to its content. Stam was reportedly informed of his sudden sale to Italian club Lazio at a petrol station, a move that Scholes and Butt considerd the height of ruthlessness.

Scholes suggested on the Football's Greatest Eras podcast that Ferguson may have used the book as an excuse to get rid of a player he already wanted to offload. When asked which of Ferguson's decisions was the most ruthless, Butt responded: "I think Jaap was the biggest one.

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"Only because Jaap was in his pomp, and he still had many years to go. I don't think Jaap was the kind of person to do what he got accused of doing.

Scholes weighed in, saying: "You shouldn't really do a book when you're still playing, that was his mistake." Butt agreed, adding: "No, I don't think you should. But, how he said it about certain players, that wouldn't verbally come out of Jaap's mouth, he was a good man Jaap, a good lad."

Scholes added: "I always wondered whether the manager used the book thing as a bit of an excuse to get rid of you - to fast-forward it a little bit.

"He went on to Lazio and AC Milan, he was an amazing player. Again, that's when he maybe felt Jaap was going against team ethics and team principles. I don't think any of the team ever thought that."

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