Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been taken to hospital from Old Trafford this afternoon after feeling unwell at the stadium. It is understood that the 84-year-old has been taken into medical care purely as a precaution, and officials at the club are optimistic that he will soon be recuperating at home.
Regular presence at matches
Sir Alex – the most successful manager in the club's history – is a regular at United home and away matches and had travelled to Old Trafford today ahead of the big Premier League game between his club and their great rivals Liverpool. He is understood to have been taken to hospital more than an hour before kick-off.
Previous health scare
Ferguson suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018 from which he recovered after surgery. There is nothing to suggest this incident is related. Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured last week) was taken to hospital ahead of Man United v Liverpool.
Ferguson, who retired as Manchester United manager in 2013, has had to face a series of life-altering challenges in recent years. In May 2018 he underwent life-saving surgery after suffering a sudden brain haemorrhage. Ferguson was given a 20 per cent chance to live by doctors but showed every ounce of his fighting spirit to defy the odds and make a recovery.
'There were five brain haemorrhages that day,' Ferguson, who was 79 at the time, said in his 2021 'Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In' film. 'Three died. Two survived. You know you are lucky.'
Personal loss and ongoing connection
Thirteen-time Premier League champion Ferguson also suffered the immense sadness of losing his wife Cathy in 2023. Lady Cathy, Ferguson's wife of 57 years, died at the age of 84.
Manchester United has remained a constant in Ferguson's life, even despite losing his role as an ambassador. In 2024, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe axed Ferguson's paid ambassadorial role as part of severe cost-cutting measures which saw United's staff reduced by hundreds. But that has not deterred Ferguson from being a familiar face in the directors' box.
'I sat down with Alex, just the two of us in the room. And I said, 'Look, the club isn't where you may think it is. It is spending more than it's earning and we're going to finish up in some difficulties. Honestly, we can't really afford to continue to pay you £2m a year,' Ratcliffe explained a year ago.
'I said, 'I'm going to leave it with you, let you have a think about it.' It was very grown up. Maybe a little bit grumpy at the beginning, but he got it.' He came back three days later, after talking to his son and said, 'Fine, I'm going to step away from it. My decision.' Ratcliffe added: 'I think it reflects really well on Alex because he put the club before himself.'
