When Owen Hargreaves was a member of Manchester United, he sustained injuries.
Hargreaves was regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson as one of his worst acquisitions ever.
The former midfield player had to address the remarks on live television, but he did so in a sophisticated manner.
On live television, Owen Hargreaves was once made to listen to Sir Alex Ferguson’s remarks that completely destroyed him, yet he couldn’t have handled the situation any better. In the summer of 2007, Ferguson paid £17 million to bring the England international, who was born in Canada, to Manchester United from Bayern Munich. The signing appeared to be inspired for a moment.
Hargreaves made 34 appearances for the Red Devils in his debut season at Old Trafford, which helped the team win the Premier League and the Champions League in 2007–2008. As United defeated Chelsea to win the European Championship for the third time in their history, he even scored a penalty. However, nothing went well for Hargreaves after that.
Due to terrible injury luck, the midfielder’s United career came to a complete halt and he would only play five games over the following three years. As the great manager would explain in his 2013 autobiography, Hargreaves had missed the majority of his final season at Bayern Munich due to a broken leg, but nothing in his past hinted at how genuinely cursed he would be when it came to injuries. A series of knee issues took their toll on his mental and physical health.
Ferguson Slammed Hargreaves in His Book
The Scot said the midfielder was one of his ‘most disappointing’ signings
Ferguson wrote in his contentious book that he had doubts about Hargreaves from the first time he signed him, and he felt that these doubts were eventually validated.
“Owen had no confidence in himself whatsoever, I saw him opt for the easy choice in training – he was one of the most disappointing signings of my career,” wrote the feared Scotsman.
“I didn’t like something about him when I signed him. An instinct is what every successful leader ought to possess.
“I told myself, ‘I don’t fancy this.'” I was still a little unsure when he came to Old Trafford for the physical. He got along well with everyone. It’s almost too pleasant.
As a pundit on TNT Sports (formerly known as BT Sport), Hargreaves was left to address the comments on live TV after Ferguson’s scathing criticisms garnered a lot of attention when the book was released.
Hargreaves’ Response to Ferguson’s Damning Words
The midfielder gave a classy rebuttal after the brutal put down
Presenter Jake Humphrey invited Hargreaves to respond after reading numerous sections from Ferguson’s new book to him in what might have been an extremely unpleasant segment. To his credit, the former United midfielder responded in a mature and considerate manner rather than being sucked into a slanging match.
“I think it’s a conversation he and I need to have personally,” he stated, adding that it was really disappointing for our friendship to degrade in that way. One of my best qualities is professionalism, as everyone who knows me would attest. I always try my hardest. Many of the folks who called me this week, including myself, were taken aback by his remarks.
“I believe he expressed a lot of emotion in his remarks. It’s clear that he was really unhappy with the outcome. We had great success in the first season. I was able to contribute significantly to the Champions League victory. I hardly ever played again after the treatment I received that summer.
“I wouldn’t want that on my worst enemy. It was extremely difficult for any young player to be 27 and at the centre of England’s and Manchester United’s plans, only to never play again. Relationships end, but because there were so many individuals involved, I believe there was some misinterpretation at times. My only regret is that I didn’t see him sooner, but it was too late for me to grasp how serious the situation was.”
The local rivals of United were Hargreaves’ final team.
At Man City, the midfield player failed to have a career comeback.
Hargreaves made a move that only 13 other United players have ever undertaken: he joined Manchester City after playing just five games in his final three seasons at Old Trafford. The last person to make the direct switch before the Englishman was Carlos Tevez, a move that also left Ferguson feeling resentful.
Similar to Tevez’s arrival, Hargreaves was greeted with billboards, but this time the acclaim did not translate into a prosperous career. Despite scoring in a League Cup victory over Birmingham City on his debut, Hargreaves would only make four appearances for the Citizens overall due to ongoing injury problems. He would retire at the young age of thirty-one.
