Ex-Leeds boss claims Sir Alex Ferguson recommended him as Man Utd successor

O'Leary was one of the most highly-rated young managers in the Premier League during the turn of the millennium, having guided Leeds United to the Champions League semi-finals. His work at Elland Road did not go unnoticed by Ferguson, who was looking for a worthy successor as he approached a planned retirement 25 years ago.

Speaking on The Overlap's 'Stick to Football', the 68-year-old O'Leary confirmed that his name was formally in the hat to lead the Red Devils. "Michael Kennedy [my solicitor] did, yeah, about it," O'Leary said when asked if United had approached him. "Alex had recommended about three people or something like that. It never went any further than that. One of the chosen ones, yeah."

While O'Leary was on the shortlist, the appointment never materialised because Ferguson famously changed his mind about leaving the club. Instead of stepping down in 2002, the legendary Scot remained in the dugout for another 11 years, eventually retiring in 2013 after securing his 13th Premier League title.

O'Leary's career took a different path following the missed opportunity at Old Trafford. He was sacked by Leeds in 2002, just a year after their European heroics, as the club's financial situation began to deteriorate. Despite the missed connection with United, the Irishman remains a significant figure in the history of the Roses rivalry between the two clubs.

The conversation naturally shifted to the current situation at United, where interim manager Michael Carrick has been impressing. O'Leary drew parallels between Carrick’s current trajectory and his own rise at Leeds United, where he initially served as assistant manager to George Graham before stepping in as caretaker following Graham's departure and eventually securing the role on a permanent basis. Drawing from that experience, he offered a word of caution about the immense scale of the job once the temporary tag is removed.

O'Leary noted: "On Michael, I don't think they were ever going to give him the job because I think they had he's going to come in, do the job for us and we're going to go and get somebody, but now that situation's changed big time."

The former Leeds boss warned that managing a club of United's stature requires a different level of resolve compared to temporary duties. O'Leary stressed that the daily demands and the relentless schedule of European and domestic football can be a shock to even the most prepared candidates.

"But I'd say to Michael now that, for all he thinks he's the manager of Man United, when you get it officially and when you've got told that and then you've got to play midweek games and got to make all these other decisions, it's a bigger thing. And Man United, they don't come much bigger than that," O'Leary concluded.