I wanted Guardiola to succeed me – Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that David Moyes the man
chosen as his managerial successor at Manchester United, was
sixth on a list of ideal replacements headed by Pep Guardiola
and four others, who were all “unavailable” at the time, Reuters
reports.
In his new book “Leading”, United’s longest-serving manager
outlines the selection process behind Moyes’ ill-fated
appointment at Old Trafford, which lasted less than a year after
he replaced the retired Ferguson in 2013.
“I asked Pep to phone me before he accepted an offer from
another club but he didn’t and wound up joining Bayern Munich
in July 2013,” Ferguson wrote.
“When we started the process of looking for my replacement, we
established that several very desirable candidates were
unavailable.
“It became apparent that Jose Mourinho had given his word to
Roman Abramovich that he would return to Chelsea, and that
Carlo Ancelotti would succeed him at Real Madrid.
“We also knew that Jurgen Klopp was happy at Borussia
Dortmund and would be signing a new contract. Meantime,
Louis van Gaal had undertaken to lead the Dutch attempt to win
the 2014 World Cup,” he added.
Moyes was sacked after 10 months at United but Ferguson
defended his fellow Scot’s record prior to joining the club.
“We chose David Moyes. He had been consistent in his job at
Everton, had a good spell there – 11 years and showed appetite.
“Unfortunately, somehow it didn’t work out for David. The
process was perfect. It was a good process,” Ferguson said.
Instead, the former United manager reserved his criticism for
Moyes’ decision to overhaul his backroom staff after taking
charge.
“I’m sure there are things that David would do differently if he
had the opportunity to relive his time at Old Trafford,” Ferguson
said.
“Such as keeping Mick Phelan (Ferguson’s assistant), who
would have been the invaluable guide to the many layers of the
club that Ryan Giggs is to Louis van Gaal today.
“There is no point suddenly changing routines that players are
comfortable with. It is counterproductive, saps morale and
immediately provokes players to question the new man’s
motives,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ferguson has revealed that he refused to allow
Wayne Rooney to be paid more than him during a contract
stand-off with the striker in 2010, AFP reports.
Rooney vowed to leave United after accusing the club of a lack
of ambition, only to perform a sudden U-turn and sign a new
five-year deal reportedly worth £180,000 a week.
But Ferguson reveals in his new book that he engineered a deal
of his own ensuring that no player could earn more than him,
telling United’s owners the Glazer family and then-chief
executive David Gill he “did not think it fair that Rooney should
earn twice what I made.”