Sir Alex Ferguson agreed to manage Tottenham when he was in charge of Aberdeen — but went back on his word.
That is according to former Spurs chairman Irving Scholar, who negotiated the deal with him in 1984.
In the new book ‘White Hart Lane — The Spurs Glory Years’ being serialised in the Sun, Irving revealed how the pair of them shook hands on a "concrete" agreement before Ferguson reneged.
“The truth was that I had been talking to and negotiating with Alex Ferguson about a deal. He and I had had very long and detailed discussions," said Scholar.
“I told him that I was a very old-fashioned type of chap and that the most important thing was that once you agree something, once you shake someone’s hand, it’s in concrete."
He continued: “So we had this seminal moment of the handshake. As you know, unfortunately, he didn’t keep to it.
“He never told me why. I had my own theories but it doesn’t matter anymore. It was a disappointment. He stayed at Aberdeen for another two years."
Ferguson went on to join Manchester United and transformed them into the most successful club in British history.
The fiery Scot picked up 13 league titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League trophies during his time at Old Trafford. Spurs, meanwhile, picked up just three domestic cup medals over the same period.
Ferguson has previously revealed he rejected the chance to manage Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal.
The Gunners made an approach for him in 1986 and he considered joining them before taking charge at United.
"I was offered the Arsenal job and I wanted to take Walter with me," Ferguson said.
"I had got to know Walter well by that stage and when I took over the Scotland job in 1985 when Jock Stein sadly passed away I made Walter my assistant with the national team."
Source: The Mirror.
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