When Ferguson Told Van Nistelrooy He Would Leave Man Utd for Swapping Shirt With City Player

• Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reputable for his iron hand on players
• He once threatened to throw Ruud Van Nistelrooy out of the club for swapping shirt with a Man City player
• The Scottish manager was in charge of the Red Devils for 27 years and won 13 titles

Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest football managers of all time and without any doubt the greatest and most successful to ever manage English Premier Manchester United.

The Scottish tactician was in charge of the Red devils for 27 years, the longest of such reigns in charge of Manchester United and a Premier League club.

Though looks cool in outward appearance, he is a tough man with strict rules and tough ways to make players adhere to his rules. For swapping shirts with a river, he once threatened to throw a player out of the club.

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Ferguson frowns at swapping shirt with rival

According to ESPN, Manchester United versus Liverpool is the biggest rivalry in English football but derbies are important in England no matter the gap in status of the clubs.

The Manchester derby is a cracking one and ahead of the two sides on Saturday, Rio Ferdinand was stressing the importance and shared how Ferguson took on, he said this on his podcast FIVE as quoted by SportBible.

''We got beat 3-1 at Maine Road…That was the first derby I played and the moment I realised how big it was was in the changing room after. We walked in and the manager shut the door. It was quiet and then all of a sudden he just erupted,'' he said.

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The big moment came when star striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy walked in with a City shirt he had swapped which got Ferguson mad and warned his players against such.

''Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was the God then, walked in with a City shirt in his hand and I remember Sir Alex Ferguson just absolutely unloaded on him. He destroyed him, saying: 'If I ever see any of you walking with a City shirt ever again you'll never play for this club'.'', he added.

According to Mirror, Gary Neville revealed Ferguson stopped them from swapping shirts in domestic games after the Van Nistelrooy incident.

Ronaldo praises Ferguson influence

While others are speaking on Ferguson's iron hand, one man is eternally grateful to the former Scotland national team manager for the time they spent together and what he learned.

As Sports Brief earlier reported, Cristiano Ronaldo praised Ferguson's impact on his career as it helped him to where he is today.

The 37 year old who is currently at Al-Nassr acknowledged the Scottish as a father and someone who put him in the right spot in his six years at Old Trafford.