Former Manchester United first-team coach Mike Phelan dropped a telling reaction after he was asked if Pep Guardiola could surpass Sir Alex Ferguson in the so-called ‘GOAT’ debate.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola are both widely regarded as two of the best managers of all time after their respective impacts on the world of football.
The former Manchester United manager, who retired from football in 2013, made his mark in both Scotland with Aberdeen and in England with the Red Devils.
Ferguson famously led Scottish side Aberdeen to the European Cup Winners’ Cup trophy in 1983 with a 2-1 victory over Spanish side Real Madrid.
The 82-year-old Scotsman built on his success after his move to Old Trafford in 1986 and led the Red Devils to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.
Guardiola, much like Ferguson, has left a trailblazing mark on the sport and the Spaniard has hoovered up the major silverware during his time in football.
The 53-year-old Spaniard made a name for himself at Barcelona and defeated Ferguson twice in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
Guardiola also lifted three Bundesliga titles and two German Cups with Bayern Munich before he arrived in England as Manchester City manager.
Phelan’s response to Ferguson vs Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has ushered in a period of dominance for Manchester City in English football since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement from football in 2013.
City have lifted six Premier League trophies under the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss, including lifting four consecutive league titles in a row.
Guardiola also became the second manager in history to lead an English team to a continental treble after City’s feat in the 2022-23 season.
Former Aberdeen boss Ferguson had previously led Manchester United to a famous treble win in the 1998-99 season.
Speaking on the Ben Heath Podcast, Mike Phelan opened up about his career under Ferguson and former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford.
Phelan, who was a first-team coach under Ferguson before he became assistant manager, made his feelings clear on the ‘GOAT debate’ involving Guardiola.
When asked if Guardiola could surpass Ferguson, Phelan said: “Yeah, he could. Yeah, he could.
“You know, it depends on whether Pep wants to go that long. Because he’s got to win the title every year – that’s the thing.
“It’s unacceptable. He’s got to that stage of high success and high performance that even where he has a blip, it’s scrutinised as, ‘Oh, they’ve lost the plot. They’ve lost the plot.’
“And that’s the way it will go, and it’s whether he wants to put up with that because he’s tremendous.
“I’ve met him a few times; he’s massively enthusiastic about football. But he’s another that just loves what he does, suffers like every manager and coach suffers when he has to – not as much as others – but he’s worked with great players and he’s made players better for a start. But it’s whether he wants to do it.”
Phelan on why Ferguson is still the GOAT
Phelan said that Ferguson remains the GOAT in his eyes ahead of Guardiola, with the former United assistant manager praising the impact the Scot had.
Speaking on Ferguson, he explained: “Over the period of time, for me, I’ve not worked with Pep and I’ve not worked with [Jurgen] Klopp and these types of guys but I appreciate everything they bring to the game, when you work with someone like Sir Alex, yeah, for me, he’s still probably the champion of all that because of his length of time, what he’s done in the game, the amount of teams he’s created, the players he’s brought through, from kids to the Class of ’92.
“The Class of ’92 stands out a mile, but he’s still brought through other kids who have had careers in the game of football.
“So, all those things in the time he’s been in the game, yeah, you’ve got to [put him up there] […] I don’t know many other managers out there that have made such an impact and influence, not just on one club – but he did it to Aberdeen for a period of time – but over a period of career, that’s frightening really.”