A FORMER Manchester United ace opened up about an incredible gesture Sir Alex Ferguson made at a dark time when he thought his career was over.
Ferguson, 83, is considered by many as the greatest manager of all time having won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League trophies during his 17-year reign at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson was praised by one of his former Manchester United hopefulsGetty
Philip Mulryne revealed an amazing gesture he received from Ferguson after he left Man UtdPA:Empics Sport
Sir Alex also gets credit for turning some of United’s greatest young prospects into legends, including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the famed Class of 92.
One of Man Utd‘s lesser-known academy graduates who got an opportunity to shine under Fergie is Philip Mulryne.
Mulryne, 47, joined the Red Devils’ academy at the age of 14 and made his senior debut under the Scottish great on the final day of the 1997-98 campaign.
The former midfielder, though, never managed to earn a permanent spot in the first team and that led to a mere five appearances until his move to Norwich a year later.
But a year after joining the Canaries, the ex-Northern Ireland international suffered a devastating leg break which put his career at serious risk.
As he was lying on a hospital bed agonising about his future, the phone rang, and it was Ferguson reaching out to him and offering him the opportunity to rehabilitate at Old Trafford.
The footballer – who has since become a priest – returned to Old Trafford for a celebration of the club’s academy and shared his incredible story to an audience of current United hopefuls.
Mulryne said: “I just want to say, as a testament to the club and what he [Ferguson] did, first of all he gave me my debut.
“But a year after I signed for Norwich, I broke my leg. It nearly ended my career.
“I woke up in hospital that night and the first phone call I got was the gaffer, offering that I could come back to the club for all my rehabilitation, and I had left the club a year.
“That was unbelievable for me and that was testament to the personal element to the club, not just the on-the-field, off-the-field attention to the person.
“That’s a wonderful testament to the club and the people in it.”
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