Sir Alex Ferguson will retire at the end of
this season, Manchester United have
announced.
As exclusively revealed by Telegraph
Sport last night, United manager
Ferguson said: "The decision to retire is
one that I have thought a great deal
about and one that I have not taken
lightly. It is the right time.
"It was important to me to leave an
organisation in the strongest possible
shape and I believe I have done so. The
quality of this league winning squad, and
the balance of ages within it, bodes well
for continued success at the highest level
whilst the structure of the youth set-up
will ensure that the long-term future of
the club remains a bright one.

"Our training facilities are amongst the
finest in global sport and our home Old
Trafford is rightfully regarded as one of
the leading venues in the world.
"Going forward, I am delighted to take on
the roles of both Director and
Ambassador for the club. With these
activities, along with my many other
interests, I am looking forward to the
future."
Sources close to the players confirming
that the squad’s golf day yesterday was
overshadowed by suggestions that the
Scot would be making an announcement
ahead of Sunday’s clash with Swansea at
Old Trafford.
Any ongoing uncertainty would have
allowed affected the confidence of
investors and, in turn, United’s New York
share price. When United’s owners, the
Glazer family, issued its prospectus for
the club’s £500m bond issue in January
2010, the prospect of Ferguson leaving
the club and potentially jeopardising
future success was raised by the
Americans as one of the risk factors
attached to investing in the club.
Ferguson confirmed on Friday that he
would attend Chester Races today along
with his playing squad, which follows on
from yesterday's golf day on a course
quite close to United's training ground.
The Scot had appeared to brush aside the
prospect of standing down this summer
when he insisted in his programme notes
prior to Sunday’s Old Trafford defeat
against Chelsea that, "I certainly don’t
have any plans at the moment to walk
away from what I believe will be
something special".
Ferguson said: "This team of champions is
not going away - we are here for the long
ride.
"We will get better and if we apply
ourselves in our normal fashion, I see our
20th league title as nothing but the start
of another decade of succese.
“Whether I will be here to oversee
another decade of success remains to be
seen, but I certainly don't have any plans
at the moment to walk away from what I
believe will be something special and
worth being around to see.”
telegraph. co.UK