Alex Ferguson is regarded as the greatest manager in the Premier League and one of the greatest of all time. The Scottish manager managed Manchester United for 26 years from 1986 to 2013, overseeing 1500, recording 895 wins, 338 draws, and 267 losses. He won 38 trophies, including 2 in the UEFA Champions League and 13 in the Premier League.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at Manchester United saw the signing of high-profile players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Ruben Van Persie, Eric Cantona, and Peter Schmeichel. He also broke several British and World transfer records.
Eight-time Premier League champion under Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Neville, has insisted that Sir Alex Ferguson was a man without flaws and oversaw certain wrong transfer decisions. A notable one, which he describes as the “greatest transfer mistake”, is the sale of Jaap Stam to Lazio in 2001.
What did Gary Neville say was the biggest transfer mistake Manchester United made under Sir Alex Ferguson?
Speaking on the Overlap podcast on SkySports, he said: “Jaap was the biggest one where I felt at the time that it was questionable,’ recalled Neville. ‘And the boss has said it was his biggest mistake, hasn’t he, in his book?
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“That was the one where I look at that transfer and think, “He’s the best centre back in the world. No-one’s beating him. No-one’s beating Jaap Stam!”
Gary Neville, who played alongside the Dutchman for three years at Old Trafford, added, “He was just a powerhouse.
“Me and Denis could go forward, or me and Phil, whoever it was, and you’d leave Jaap at the back with anyone.
“He was a bit like [Virgil] van Dijk at his peak two or three years ago, where he’d just take the ball off you! You can’t get past him. A player looks to run at Jaap Stam, and they’re just refusing it. They’re passing it! That was the one I felt wasn’t quite right.”
Jaap Stam joined Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 1998. He spent three years at Manchester United, winning three Premier League titles and being part of the 1999 treble-winning squad.
The Dutchman’s transfer to Lazio was sanctioned by Sir Alex Ferguson following a training ground row and concern over the fitness of the Dutch centre as he missed certain important games during the 2000/2001 season with an Achilles injury.
