Sir Alex Ferguson was synonymous for a bad temper, and one super-agent felt the full force of it a decade ago
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson was renowned for dishing out the hairdryer treatment during his managerial career, and he didn't just reserve it for his players.
Super-agent Rafaela Pimenta, who represents former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, also faced Sir Alex Ferguson's wrath over a decade ago.
With the then-teenage Frenchman on the cusp of joining Juventus after growing frustrated with his lack of playing time in the Manchester United first team, Ferguson called a meeting with the player and his representatives - in the loosest sense of the word, according to Pimenta.
Pimenta faced Ferguson's fury over a decade ago (Image credit: Getty Images)
“I cannot call that a meeting,” she told The Guardian. “I call it a train crash. It started bad, it ended bad.
"Sir Alex came in and he was so angry that he hit the table and our tea spilled everywhere. He was totally red. Mino [Raiola] was totally angry. It was a disaster.”
While Pimenta doesn't expand into the details of the meeting, it's clear that whatever Sir Alex Ferguson argued didn't help both parties come to a resolution. Pogba eventually departed the club on a free transfer at the end of the 2011/12 season, joining Juventus and breaking into the first team there.
Pogba now faces a ban from football (Image credit: Getty Images)
Four seasons in Italy ultimately saw Pogba return to Manchester United for a record £89m transfer, before inconsistent performances at Old Trafford resulted in another free transfer to the Old Lady in the summer of 2022.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Pogba now faces the prospect of a ban after failing a drugs test in Italy, but Pimenta has vowed to stick by the 30-year-old.
“I will always be there for Paul. He’s a part of my life and I’m grateful for the way he treated me and always gave us respect. He’s a great person that has evolved so much, because I met him as a kid.
“He’s a father now, with three kids. So he changed so much and he will grow more. What I like about Paul is that whenever something negative happens, he does his best to find a lesson in it.”
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
