Sir Alex Ferguson did not give out praise to just anyone, so when he did – it meant Manchester United had a star on their hands.
Over the years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary reign, the Scottish boss remained largely unchallenged by his squad.
This is because every Manchester United player was desperate to impress the man who is now widely seen as the best manager in the history of football.
Still to this day, United legends refer to Sir Alex as being, ‘The Boss’, which speaks to the respect that his players have for him.
However, one player who got special treatment from Sir Alex was Eric Cantona – with the boss showering him with praise often.
Now, it seems another player was the recipient of some Cantona-esque praise.
READ MORE: Who is Eric Cantona? Age, Height, Acting, Singing, Family
What Sir Alex Ferguson told Louis Saha before he signed
In January 2004, Manchester United completed a deal to sign Louis Saha from Fulham for £12.8m.
The Frenchman would remain until September 2008, making 124 appearances with 42 goals and 16 assists.
Saha has been speaking with The Athletic and in doing so revealed what Sir Alex told him before he agreed to move to Old Trafford.
“So it was a difficult time,” the striker reflected. “But when Sir Alex Ferguson calls you and says, ‘I really like your style’, and, ‘You’re going to be part of a plan where it’s a bit of transition time’. It was great to see.”
Saha had some great moments in a United shirt, including scoring within 18 minutes of making his debut against Southampton.
Saha wanted to replicate Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke
Saha also praised Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in his interview as being ‘terrific’ footballers.
The French forward – who won 20 caps for France – also admitted that he dreamed of replicating some previous United forwards’ careers.
“I had to take a bit of action to make sure that I got the move that I wanted,” Saha tells The Athletic.
“It was a huge opportunity to play at a club that I felt really connected with before playing for them. Because I’d seen those two strikers; Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. I wanted to copy those guys.”
Saha then went on to describe his footballing style in comparison with his teammate at the time, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“I had different qualities from the players, I was a bit more… let’s say mobile. Maybe a bit more happy in the air.
“Ruud was more the proper No 9,” Saha added before it was noted he made a ball with his hands to symbolise the Dutchman’s completeness.
“I was more someone who could go behind and disrupt the game of the opposition that way.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
