Ex-Man United coach Sir Alex Ferguson has opened up about his recovery from a brain haemorrhage, recalling the fear and uncertainty he experienced after undergoing emergency surgery in 2018.

The former Manchester United gaffer suffered the haemorrhage in May 2018 and returned to Old Trafford four months later to watch United face Wolves in the Premier League.

Despite spending 26 years in charge of the club and becoming one of football’s most successful managers, Ferguson admitted he was nervous about returning to the stadium.

As reported by BBC Sport on Friday, Ferguson was quoted as saying, “I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn’t,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, who was accompanied by his wife Cathy, received a standing ovation from supporters when they took their seats in the directors’ box.

“My wife was with me, and she was nearly crying. When we sat down, she said ‘that’s fantastic’,” he recalled.

Ferguson was 76 when he suffered the haemorrhage and had already retired from management five years earlier. He went on to make a gradual recovery, although the early stages were particularly difficult.

“I had lost my voice; I couldn’t speak,” he said. “That was a frightening moment.”

He recalled how his grandsons visited him during his recovery and saw him struggling to speak.

“I remember my grandsons coming to see me and I had lost my voice,” Ferguson said.

A therapist then helped him begin the process of regaining his speech through a series of exercises.

“Then they brought in a therapist and she started doing things like asking me to write down the names of birds, names of animals, names of rivers,” he said.

“That way my voice came back.”

Now approaching his 85th birthday, Ferguson says he is feeling well despite dealing with some minor injuries.

The Scot has also reflected on his extraordinary football career in his new book, _Games of My Life_, which recounts 21 defining matches from his playing and managerial career.

Ferguson spent 26 years managing Manchester United, winning 38 trophies during his time at the club and establishing himself as one of the most decorated managers in football history.

His recollections offer a personal insight into both his remarkable career and the difficult period that followed one of the most serious health challenges of his life.

Source: punchng.com

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Argentina’s plan to retire Lionel Messi’s iconic No. 10 shirt has been blocked by FIFA regulations, according to GOAL.com reports on Thursday.

The Argentine Football Association reportedly wanted to permanently retire the number following Messi’s retirement from international football.

Messi announced on August 31 that he would retire from international football after more than two decades with Argentina.

The Inter Miami forward is expected to make his farewell appearance before the Argentine public on October 6 when the country faces Benin in a friendly at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Messi, who has 207 international appearances and 125 goals, has worn Argentina’s No. 10 shirt throughout much of his international career.

However, FIFA regulations require teams competing in international final tournaments to use squad numbers from 1 to 26, preventing Argentina from permanently retiring the No. 10 shirt.

Liberia encountered a similar issue after retiring the No. 14 shirt in honour of former striker and president George Weah.

FIFA regulations subsequently required the number to be used during the country’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has yet to decide who will inherit Messi’s number.

“We are not obliged to assign it for the upcoming matches, so we will give it to no one until after Leo’s farewell match. We just have not yet decided who,” ESPN quoted Scaloni as saying.

However, ESPN Argentina reporter Federico Bueno reported that Nico Paz is the leading candidate to take over the shirt if Scaloni extends his contract.

“If Scaloni extends his contract as Argentina head coach, then Nico Paz will be the new number 10. That has been decided internally,” Bueno said.

Paz, 22, is an attacking midfielder who previously played for Real Madrid before joining Italian side Como permanently for €60m last summer.

He has made 11 appearances for Argentina and scored once.

Source: punchng.com

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Michael Jordan’s jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals has sold for $12.3 million (£9.3 million), setting a new record for Jordan memorabilia as reported by BBC Sport on Thursday.

The Chicago Bulls jersey was worn by Jordan during Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, the season later immortalised as his “Last Dance”.

Jordan led the Bulls to a 4-2 series victory over the Utah Jazz, securing his sixth and final NBA championship.

He was also named Finals Most Valuable Player for the sixth time.

The sale surpasses the previous record for Jordan memorabilia, $10.1 million (£7.6 million) paid for his jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 Finals.

The jersey was sold by entrepreneur Ryan Gough through Joopiter, the digital auction house founded by Pharrell Williams.

It had been estimated to sell for between $10 million and $15 million.

“Few objects in the history of sport embody greatness as completely as Michael Jordan’s game three jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals,” Joopiter said in its auction listing.

“Worn during the Last Dance… it marks the culmination of an era that transformed basketball into a global cultural phenomenon.”

The auction house added that the jersey “stands among the most important game-worn sports artifacts ever to come to market.”

Jordan memorabilia has continued to command major prices at auction. His 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello also recently sold for $2.7 million, four times the previous auction record for the model.

Despite the latest sale, Jordan’s jersey does not hold the record for the most expensive game-worn sports memorabilia.

That distinction belongs to Babe Ruth’s jersey associated with his famous “called shot” during the 1932 World Series, which sold for $24.1 million (£18.2 million) in 2024.

Source: punchng.com

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