Agent on ‘great charisma’ of Sir Alex Ferguson: Reveals effort to sign Bilic from West Ham

Currently recuperating from surgery on a brain haemorrhage, Sir Alex Ferguson has been in the football world’s thoughts for the past few days.

The most recent news regarding the former Manchester United manager has been positive, suggesting the 76-year-old’s situation is improving, with everyone hoping he makes a full recovery in the near future.

Over in Croatia, Vecernji had a chat with agent Milan Martinovic, who interacted many times with Ferguson over the years, to try and get a better idea of what the Scot was like during his days in the Old Trafford dugout.

Their first meeting took place in 1996, when the then Manchester United manager was interested in a West Ham defender who would, in the future, go onto manage the Hammers in the Premier League.

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Martinovic said: “The reason for our meeting was Ferguson’s interest in Slaven Bilic. We were then joined by Norwegian manager Rune Hage and organised a meeting in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manchester. When I told Bilic he was wanted by Ferguson, he was very excited and, of course, agreed to meet with him.

“Fergie had only heard compliments about him, and the Scot saw in Slaven a player to his taste; brilliant, strong and a leader.”

In the end, the transfer never took place due to West Ham’s excessive demands for their star, according to Martinovic, which came at a time when Manchester United didn’t particularly want to spend huge amounts of money on players, despite the fact ‘Alex was really fascinated by Slaven’.

From that moment onwards, the agent became Ferguson’s point of call when it came to Eastern European footballers, with regular meetings between the two taking place regarding players such as Stjepan Tomas or Stip Pletikos.

Describing Ferguson as ‘extremely eloquent, charming, fun and always ready for a joke’, Martinovic likened the manager to the current man in charge at Old Trafford, José Mourinho, for their ‘something, an overwhelming charisma’.

This, in itself, explains why Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to meet the players he wanted to sign before doing so.

Martinovic explained: “Ferguson told me: ‘When I’m interested in a player, I don’t focus on his football skills alone, but I have to meet him personally. He doesn’t have to be a world-class player. I will take him if he impresses me with his attitude, way of thinking, character.

“That was how David Beckham was when I first met him; he was somewhat technically limited, but incredibly friendly during our first conversation, so I quickly made a decision: we’ll make something out of him.”