Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs revealed that there were “three or four players” who escaped the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson’s infamous hairdryer treatment.
One of the famed ‘Class of ‘92’ members, Ryan Giggs spent his entire legendary playing career at Manchester United after emerging through the youth academy.
The 50-year-old Welshman played the majority of his United career under Sir Alex Ferguson, who saw Giggs as one of the four world-class players he managed.
Giggs remains United’s record appearance maker and the ex-Red Devils star made a whopping 952 appearances during his legendary playing career with the club.
The United legend hoovered up the silverware at Old Trafford, including lifting 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and four League Cups.
Giggs became a player-coach after Ferguson’s retirement from football in 2013, with the Welshman becoming interim manager in 2014 after David Moyes’ sacking.
The former United star, who retired as a player in 2014, later served as assistant manager to Louis van Gaal before his Old Trafford departure in 2016.
Giggs talks Ferguson and four Man Utd legends
Ryan Giggs shared the pitch with a star-studded roster of talent at Old Trafford, including Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who is considered one of the best managers of all time, was well known for ensuring that his position as head coach remained unchallenged.
The legendary former Manchester United manager also created a reputation for his infamous ‘hairdryer treatments,’ with Ferguson brutally putting his players on blast.
Giggs admitted that very few players escaped the wrath of Ferguson, adding that he only saw three or four of his teammates avoid the scolding from the iconic Scot.
The United legend admitted that Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo were four players that Ferguson treated very differently.
Giggs even went as far as to claim that the four aforementioned United legends were “all in their own ways matchwinners” for Ferguson.
The former Wales boss believes that the qualities of the “matchwinners” meant that United legend Ferguson “never felt he had” to shout at them.
“There were three or four players that he never had a go at,” Giggs told beIN Sports, as per The Evening Standard in 2020.
“Eric Cantona was one – Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo. They were all in their own ways matchwinners. They did the stuff on the pitch, so he never felt he had to.
“Eric, there were some games where Eric didn’t do anything. He didn’t score, he wasn’t running around like a Carlos Tevez or a Wayne Rooney, he didn’t have any impact. But he knew sooner or later he would come good.
“We would be sat in the dressing room thinking: ‘He’s got to have a go at him, he’s got to have a pop at him because he didn’t do anything today.’
“But the next week he’d scored the winner or he would produce a moment of magic, so he handled the big names really well as long as they were doing it on the pitch, he handled them in a different way.
“He was the master of psychology, he was a master at getting the best out of certain individuals like whether to put an arm around, or whether to give them a rocket at half-time or at the end of the game or leave them out knowing that the player would react in a positive way.”
Gary Neville on Ferguson’s fury
Gary Neville recently admitted that Ferguson’s infamous hairdryer treatment was more terrifying when they unexpectedly emerged out of nowhere.
Speaking to the UTD Podcast in June (via Manchester United’s official website), he said: “You knew sometimes that it was coming, you know what I mean?
“You knew you’d had a bad half or you’d given a goal away, or you weren’t at it.
“But it was the ones where you weren’t expecting it that shocked you! You would go in, you’d have your drink, and you’d sit down.
“And then you got that [look from Ferguson] and you’d look at him and he’d say [adopts Glasgow accent]: ‘Stop looking like I’ve got horns on my head!’ [That was] because you’d be looking at him like: ‘Me? Today? No, not today. Last week, maybe!’”
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