Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were both in agreement over the “unbelievable” individual who had a major impact on Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson.
Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time after his impact in both Scotland and England.
The 82-year-old Scotsman arrived at Old Trafford in 1986 and replaced Ron Atkinson as United manager, with Ferguson initially enduring a tough start at the club.
However, Ferguson weathered the storm at the Red Devils and the legendary Scot went on to have a lost-lasting impact on English football.
The United legend became the first manager to lead an English team to a continental treble after the Red Devils’ triumph in the 1998-99 season.
Ferguson hoovered up the major silverware during his time in the Old Trafford dugout, with the former Aberdeen boss lifting 13 Premier League titles with United.
The iconic ex-United manager bowed out of management in 2013 after he led the Red Devils to their last Premier League title in the 2012-13 season.
Carragher and Neville talk Ferguson and Man Utd
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher appeared on the latest Stick to Football show alongside Arsenal hero Ian Wright and Manchester United legend Roy Keane.
The aforementioned quartet revealed how they would rank the top five Premier League managers of all time after Jurgen Klopp’s exit from Anfield.
During the segment, Neville pointed to the “unbelievable” impact that former United and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had when he first arrived in English football.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “Jose had the greatest personality. Back in the day. Oh, he did.
“When he first came, that first five-six years he gripped the whole league, by the way. He did. He did.
“He came in at that time and made an impact on the league that was like unbelievable.”
Jose Mourinho, who is currently a free agent after his sacking from Roma, had crossed paths with Ferguson ahead of his arrival in the Premier League.
The 61-year-old Portuguese manager was in charge of Porto when his former side knocked Ferguson’s United team out of the Champions League in the 2003-04 season.
Mourinho’s Champions League-winning exploits with Porto in 2004 caught the eye of former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who brought him to the Premier League.
Ferguson had a fierce rivalry with the ‘Special One’ when he arrived at Chelsea and Mourinho lifted two league titles when the Scot was in charge at United.
Carragher insisted that Mourinho had an impact on Ferguson like he had “never seen before,” with Neville agreeing with the Sky Sports pundit’s overall observation.
“He made an impact on Ferguson that I’ve never seen before,” he said.
“Ferguson used to always go like head to head with people, didn’t he? He didn’t with Jose, though. Because they were too good for them at that time […].”
How did Carragher rank Ferguson and Mourinho?
Carragher has spoken highly of Ferguson in the past and how he achieved one feat that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola would be unlikely to do now.
However, the Liverpool legend revealed that he would rank Pep Guardiola as the best manager in Premier League history ahead of Ferguson.
“I would put him [Jurgen Klopp] above [Arsene] Wenger, with the only reason being the Champions League,” Carragher said.
“Arsenal didn’t quite crack that, did they? But Klopp got to three finals, won it once, and I just think coming up against City and the points totals as well.
“I’d put Pep Guardiola top of [the] Premier League [history]. Sir Alex Ferguson, what he did at Aberdeen, maybe puts him above Pep, but in terms of the Premier League, Guardiola has won six in seven [Premier League titles], and he’s only been here for eight years.
“Ferguson would have only won his first once after being there for seven years. I’d go Pep, Ferguson, Jose [Mourinho] because he came back and won the league with Chelsea, then Klopp next [then Wenger].”