Former Manchester United winger Andrei Kanchelskis claims Sir Alex Ferguson apologised to the team when he sold him in 1995, but his departure allowed David Beckham to make his breakthrough.
Kanchelskis signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in 1991 and in his four years at Old Trafford he made over 100 appearances, before his surprise and somewhat controversial transfer to Everton in 1995, and the 51-year-old has revealed his former manager apologised to the squad.
“When I left United, Ferguson was ready to apologise to the whole team,” the former winger told Sport-Express.
His departure paved the way for Beckham to secure his place in Ferguson’s starting XI.
"Beckham wrote that if I had not left Manchester, he would not have played. It's nice that I gave him the opportunity,” Kanchelskis joked. “As a result, they recognise me more in England than in Russia."
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Despite his premature exit from Old Trafford and the controversy that surrounded it, the winger has happy memories of his time at United where he won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup during his four years with the club.
“Naturally, mostly positive things are connected with England, especially with Manchester. I remember the first time I went to Old Trafford. I was then recognised as the best player of the match,” he recalled.
“Before the FA Cup final with Chelsea, the Queen herself wished us good luck. There were difficult times, but in football everything doesn’t always run smoothly.”
The winger, who went on to have stints at Rangers, Manchester City and Southampton, also remembers a time that, due to the language barrier when he first arrived at United, his team-mates tricked him into swearing at Ferguson.
“They made fun of me,” he said. “I immediately realised myself that you should not say that, but, most importantly, the coach also laughed at that joke.
"In general, Ferguson and Valery Lobanovsky (his manager at Dynamo Kiev) could always admit their mistakes. This suggests that they are great.”
