Four players Sir Alex Ferguson would love to have managed including Man City icon

Sir Alex Ferguson managed many incredible footballers during his 27-year tenure with Manchester United, including Cristiano Ronaldo – but there are some he never got the chance to work with

Sir Alex Ferguson has named a Tottenham Hotspur stalwart and a Manchester City fan favourite among the players he wished he could have worked with at Manchester United.

The legendary Scot, 83, who enjoyed a trophy-laden 27-year tenure with the Red Devils between 1986 and 2013, had the chance to work with and develop a number of the world’s greatest footballers of all time. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Ruud van Nistelrooy are a handful of names that Ferguson moulded into superstars. However, there are a number of others that the manager wished he could have brought to Old Trafford.

Speaking to Gary Neville via Sport Bible’s YouTube channel, Ferguson said: “Well I think [Harry] Kane…I thought Dele Alli was going to be a top player, I must admit. I don’t know what’s happened there.

“But Kane, and the boy, Son [Heung-min] at Tottenham – these are excellent players. [Sergio] Aguero has been a terrific striker, there’s no doubt about that.

“His goal-scoring has been exceptional. And I think that the top teams will always produce a player that can stand out and I think that those two in particular (Kane and Aguero).”

The news of Ferguson rating Aguero so highly may leave some Red Devils fans with a funny feeling, given their fierce rivalry with Manchester City – the club that the Argentine played for 10 years and remains their all-time record goalscorer. After making a name for himself at Independiente, Aguero moved to Atletico Madrid in 2006, spending five years in Spain before a £35million move to the Etihad.

During his time in the northwest of England, Aguero scored 260 goals and provided 64 assists in 390 games, clinching a quintet of Premier League titles and a decade of domestic cups. He then spent seven months with Barcelona before announcing his retirement in December 2021.

Kane, Son and Dele Alli, meanwhile, all played for Spurs during their primes, making a name for themselves with an abundance of goals and assists in the absence of any major trophies. Kane scored 280 goals in 435 games for the Lilywhites between 2010 and 2023 before signing for Bayern Munich, where he still plies his trade.

Alli was signed to Spurs from MK Dons in 2015, playing for the club for seven years before making the move to Everton, spending a season on loan with Besiktas, and signing for Como in January on a free transfer. Meanwhile, Son signed for Spurs in 2015 and remains with the club at present.

With 173 goals and 96 assists to his name from 451 appearances, the South Korean forward has been a standout in an otherwise struggling Spurs side who currently languish in 15th in the Premier League standings – with just 11 wins from 32 games in 2024/25. Elsewhere in his interview, Ferguson picked out another Spurs legend as a player that he wished he had the chance to oversee during his time with Manchester United in Paul Gascoigne.

He explained: “Paul Gascoigne, without question. I think he was the best English player since Bobby Charlton. I thought he was a fantastic player. Unfortunately we didn’t get him, and I think looking back now, he made a big mistake.

“He recognised it himself years later, but we had Geordies in the camp. We had Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Steven Bruce – even Gary Pallister from Middlesbrough. We had people there that would have taken care of him, particularly Bryan Robson who was fantastic with players as you know.

“So he goes to an island in London. You’re easily swallowed up there as a young lad, and I think that was a big mistake by him. I think he was a marvellous player.”

Gascoigne impressed with Newcastle United for three years in the mid-80s before signing on the dotted line for Spurs in 1988. However, he only spent four years with the north London side, subsequently signing for Lazio in ’92.

Gazza bounced between Rangers, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Everton, Gansu Tianma, and Boston United before retiring in 2004 without a Premier League title to his name. This is a stark contrast to Ferguson’s incredible reign with the Red Devils, during which he clinched 13 Premier League trophies, five FA Cups, four League Cups, 10 Community Shields, and a pair of Champions Leagues before stepping away from management in 2013.