Sir Alex Ferguson "unloaded" on Ruud van Nistelrooy for holding Man City shirt
Sir Alex Ferguson once "absolutely unloaded" on one of his Manchester United stars for holding a shirt of their rivals Manchester City.
The incident occurred after the Red Devils had been beaten 3-1 by their cross-city rivals in the final Manchester Derby at Maine Road back in November 2002.
Ferguson went in on Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy after the match, having seen that he had walked into the dressing room holding a City shirt.
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand was playing in his first Manchester Derby that day and has revealed that seeing Ferguson's rant made him realise how big the derby was.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand explained: “We got beat 3-1 at Maine Road with Shaun Goater scoring two goals.
“That was the first derby I played and the moment I realised how big it 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.
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“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’.
“That's how he was, he was just mad. That's when I sat there and thought ‘this is a big game, isn't it’.
“I didn't realise before that game and ever since then, whether you win more or less, I knew that week leading up to a derby was all or nothing.”
Dutchman Van Nistelrooy would later redeem himself by scoring in the reverse fixture, but United were held to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford after a late Shaun Goater equaliser.
Despite this result, United went on to claim their eighth Premier League title at the end of the season and Van Nistelrooy also claimed the league's golden boot with 25 goals.
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