Get the day's biggest United stories delivered straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Pep Guardiola was his first choice to succeed him as Manchester United manager.

Ferguson met Guardiola during a brief holiday in New York in September 2012, when the former Barcelona coach was enjoying a sabbatical in the States.

Four months later, Bayern Munich announced Guardiola would replace Jupp Heynckes at the end of the season, forcing United to resort to other candidates.

Ferguson insists Jose Mourinho had agreed to return to Chelsea, despite reports to the contrary, and other alternatives, such as Louis van Gaal and Jurgen Klopp, were unattainable.

"I asked Pep to phone me before he accepted an offer from another club but he didn't and wound up joining Bayern Munich in July 2013," Ferguson writes in the book, Leading.

“Life is such that the best of theories, or the best of intentions, sometimes don’t translate into practice. Believe me, the United board wanted nothing more than to select a manager who would be with the club for a long time.

“When we started the process of looking for my replacement, we established that several very desirable candidates were unavailable.

"It became apparent that Jose Mourinho had given his word to Roman Abramovich that he would return to Chelsea, and that Carlo Ancelotti would succeed him at Real Madrid.

“We also knew that Jürgen Klopp was happy at Borussia Dortmund and would be signing a new contract. Meantime, Louis van Gaal had undertaken to lead the Dutch attempt to win the 2014 World Cup.”

Ferguson maintains he decided to retire in December 2012 after his wife's sister, Bridget Robertson, died.

United ultimately appointed David Moyes, who lasted less than a year, on Ferguson's 'recommendation'.

“I’m sure there are things that David would do differently if he had the opportunity to relive his time at Old Trafford,” Ferguson explains. “Such as keeping Mick Phelan [Ferguson’s assistant], who would have been the invaluable guide to the many layers of the club that Ryan Giggs is to Louis van Gaal today.

“There is no point suddenly changing routines that players are comfortable with. It is counterproductive, saps morale and immediately provokes players to question the new man’s motives. A leader who arrives in a new setting, or inherits a big role, needs to curb the impulse to display his manhood.”