Manchester United fans must have watched the incredible footage of Sir Alex Ferguson’s pre-match team-talk from Michael Carrick’s testimonial with smiles on their faces throughout the entire four minutes.Rio Ferdinand uploaded the video to his YouTube channel on Thursday and United supporters have been sharing it like crazy ever since.Ferguson managed the Red Devils for 27 years but we never got the opportunity to experience one of the Scot’s legendary team-talks during that time. And although this was only a testimonial, taking place four years after Ferguson retired, the footage still offers a fascinating insight into how British football’s most successful manager operated before a match.The first thing you can’t help but notice is the incredible amount of respect he commands.There were some massive personalities in that dressing room - Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville to name a few - but they were all hanging on his every word.
Gary Neville destroyed Rio Ferdinand during the team-talk
Nobody dared to talk when Ferguson was speaking - although Gary Neville couldn’t resist interrupting after his former boss asked Ferdinand a question.
“Has anyone ever scored a hat-trick against you?” Ferguson asked Rio, after reminding the BT Sport pundit that Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick in his final match in charge of United.
The retired defender replied: “Actually, no… Ronaldo did, didn’t he.”
Neville then said: “Did you not see him at QPR?”
This made the dressing room burst out laughing.
“I protected him at West Brom by the way!” Rio responded. “All the time… I protected him!”
Rio has now sent a tweet to Neville
Clearly still reeling from Neville’s cheeky dig, Rio has sent a tweet to his former teammate.
“Out of order @GNev2 😂😂😂“ Rio wrote, along with a link to the video.
Gary Neville responds
Neville then responded to Rio's tweet later in the day...
Video: Ferguson's epic pre-match team-talk
If you haven’t watched the video in full yet, then you’re in for a treat.
Seriously, it’s well worth four minutes of your time - especially if you support United.
You won’t see a better video for a long time.