Alex Ferguson's departure from Aberdeen was not merely the move of a successful manager to a bigger club. It marked the end of an exceptional era for the Scottish club and the start of a journey that became one of the greatest success stories football has ever seen. While Aberdeen's supporters dreamed of keeping the manager who had restored them to European and domestic podiums, Ferguson stunned everyone by leaving for Manchester United, trailing anger, shock and disappointment in his wake.
"I think he is making the wrong move, and I think he will regret it," one Aberdeen fan said of the decision in November 1986, voicing the feelings of a large section of supporters who could not comprehend how the man who had built the club's glories could leave in such a way.
What that fan, and many others, could not have imagined was that the Scot was destined to write a new chapter of history in England. The next 26 years would make him one of the greatest managers the game has ever known.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the day Ferguson left Aberdeen for Manchester United, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, revisited those moments, from the behind-the-scenes of the announcement to the reactions of fans, players and officials, and finally an assessment of the decision four decades on.
Eight years of glory: Ferguson works the Aberdeen miracle
Long before his name became synonymous with success at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson had carved out an exceptional standing for himself in Scotland, leading Aberdeen through eight years of a golden run the club was not accustomed to.
Under him, the Dons broke the traditional dominance of Scottish football's two giants, Rangers and Celtic. They won three Scottish league titles and four Scottish Cups, along with the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup.
These were not merely a collection of trophies. They represented a historic transformation that turned Aberdeen into one of the most prominent European clubs of the period and gave supporters the sense that the team was living through an era that might last for years.
Small wonder, then, that the supporters struggled to accept the departure of the man behind it all. Ferguson had given the club stability and exceptional results, and his exit felt like the end of an entire project.
A journalist uncovers the deal, and a bottle of champagne reveals the secret
On 6 November 1986, Rodger Forsyth, journalist and sports broadcaster at the BBC in Scotland, had an appointment with one of the biggest stories of his career.
His editor asked him to head to Aberdeen and verify rumours of negotiations between Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, with talk growing that the Scot was close to taking charge of the English side.
The flight Forsyth took from Glasgow was crowded with journalists, but most were not covering football. They were following the aftermath of a Chinook helicopter crash in the Shetland Islands that left 43 people dead.
As soon as he landed in Aberdeen, Forsyth began his search for the truth, until chance led him to the place where Ferguson was meeting Martin Edwards, the Manchester United chairman at the time, inside one of the airport hotels.
The journalist discovered the location in an unexpected way. He made a phone call asking to speak to "Mr Edwards who had come from Manchester", and the receptionist told him the man was in the restaurant area.
Forsyth recalls: "I heard some voices, so I headed towards their source, and there I found Martin Edwards and Alex Ferguson. I asked him directly: are you the new manager of Manchester United? And he replied: yes."
The scene was clearer than the journalist expected. A bottle of champagne sat on the table, and Ferguson poured him a glass, which Forsyth raised to congratulate the Scot on his new post.
After a short conversation, the journalist hurried to contact the BBC newsroom to confirm the news, which became one of the main sports headlines of the day.
Forsyth added: "The Sumburgh disaster was leading the main news headlines, while Alex Ferguson was leading the sports news headlines. It was a day full of news, sport and broadcasting events, one of those days you can never forget throughout your professional career or your life."
"He will regret it": fan anger at the decision to leave
For Aberdeen's supporters, the announcement of Ferguson's move was no ordinary piece of news. They faced a harsh reality: the manager who had led their team to unprecedented glory had chosen to abandon a project that seemed capable of reaping trophies for years to come.
That same day, the BBC's "Reporting Scotland" programme carried the reactions of fans from the "Pittodrie Bar", where sadness mixed with anger and astonishment.
One fan was convinced Ferguson was making a big mistake. "It is unfortunate for Aberdeen, and I think he is making the wrong move, and I think he will regret it in years to come," he said.
Another did not stop at disappointment. He aimed a direct criticism at the Scot, recalling his previous stances towards players who had left Aberdeen in search of better opportunities.
He said: "Ferguson used to preach about the importance of having loyal players, and he used to envy Rangers and Celtic for having players of this kind. In other words, he used to criticise his players for leaving Aberdeen, but he himself set a completely contradictory example when he decided to leave."
Those words captured the contradiction some fans felt. The man who demanded loyalty from his players chose to leave the moment one of England's biggest clubs came calling.
"A crushing blow": Aberdeen lose their manager and his backroom staff
The fallout did not stop with the fans. It reached the club's management and the players, who faced a new reality after years of working under the Scot.
Ian Donald, then Aberdeen's vice-chairman, described Ferguson's departure as "a crushing blow" and pointed to the speed with which everything happened.
He said in remarks dating back to 1986: "It happened extremely quickly, almost overnight. Only yesterday morning, we had perhaps the best management team in Britain, and now we are losing them both."
By that he meant Ferguson and his assistant, who left with him for Manchester United. It was a blow that was not only technical. It tore into the administrative and coaching structure that had built Aberdeen's successes.
Inside the dressing room, the impact was just as clear. Former captain Willie Miller spoke of the uncertainty that gripped the players after their manager left.
Ferguson was known for his strong personality and his fierce temper, yet the players understood his impact on the team and his relentless insistence on winning.
Miller says some of the Scot's methods may no longer be acceptable in modern football, recalling the tense atmosphere the dressing rooms used to witness.
He added: "Such behaviour would not pass unnoticed in our current time. Perhaps that was what we expected back then from any manager. I do not think today's players would accept anything resembling that, such as throwing cups inside dressing rooms."
At the same time, he stressed that Ferguson did not merely seek to win. He wanted to win in a distinctive way, which made his strict personality part of the culture of success he created at Aberdeen.
Miller admitted he felt huge disappointment when he learned of the manager's departure, a feeling shared by most of the players, even though they knew the final decision rested with Ferguson alone.
The strongest answer to the doubters: did Ferguson deserve the blame?
Four decades on, the feelings of Aberdeen's fans appear calmer and more balanced, now that they can look at events away from the shock of that first moment.
Sandy Smith, 72, who lived through every stage the club went through across his long years as a supporter, says Ferguson's departure was deeply painful, but he grew to understand the reasons for it with time.
He explained: "It was very frustrating and very painful, but to be fair, there is no comparison between Manchester United and Aberdeen. After all he gave to the club, I felt deeply sad when he left."
He added that Ferguson struggled during his first two seasons at Manchester United before turning the club's fortunes and beginning a trophy haul, noting that his departure was a huge shock to Aberdeen by any measure.
At his first press conference after taking charge of Manchester United, Ferguson did not hide the size of the sacrifice he had made, admitting he had left a job that gave him exceptional stability.
He said: "I have left what could be regarded as the most stable job in British football, with a lifetime contract at Aberdeen. There was only one club that could tempt me to leave Aberdeen, and it is the only club I always wanted to move to."
Those words made it clear his decision was not a search for money or a new job. It was tied to a long-standing dream of managing Manchester United.
Despite the difficulties at the start of his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson turned the club into a force that dominated English and European football across a 26-year career that brought 38 trophies.
His haul included 13 Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League titles, five FA Cups and four League Cups, along with many others.
So the fan who predicted Ferguson would regret leaving Aberdeen captured the feelings of the supporters at the time, but could never have imagined what came next.
Forty years on, the real question is no longer why Ferguson left Aberdeen. It is what would have happened had he not taken that step.