‘Alex Ferguson called me silly boy for rejecting Man Utd – we didn’t speak for six years’

Alex Ferguson called me silly boy for rejecting Man Utd – we didn’t speak for six years’
Paul Gascoigne famously snubbed Manchester United for Tottenham in 1988, and Sir Alex Ferguson was far from a happy man as the transfer fell through while he went off on holiday

Sir Alex Ferguson was left thoroughly disappointed when Paul Gascoigne chose to join Tottenham instead of Manchester United.

Despite having agreed to sign for United back in 1988, Gazza ultimately changed his mind and opted for Spurs after they met Newcastle United’s £2.2million asking price. “Can I go on holiday, knowing that I’ve signed you Gazza?” Ferguson had asked over the phone, to which Gazza responded with a resounding ‘yes’. However, the deal never materialised.

Ferguson, who was still in the early stages of his tenure at United, had been eager to secure a player of Gazza’s calibre – someone capable of winning matches and titles. He first spotted the talented midfielder during a game against Newcastle in 1987.

Despite Newcastle’s lacklustre performance in the First Division clash under Willie McFaul, Gazza stood out. The then-20 year old, known for his love of Mars Bars and Newcastle Brown Ale, gave United’s midfield trio of Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside and Remi Moses a run for their money.

In that era, no one was a model of physical fitness, but Gascoigne did things to the United midfield that few had done before. Ferguson set his sights on the midfielder who would go on to be crowned PFA Young Player of the Year and listed in the PFA Team of the Year that season.

Ferguson was so keen to sign Gascoigne that he spoke to the mercurial midfielder himself, selling the United project. And he had worked his magic, the pair agreeing a deal will be formalised and Ferguson could head on his summer holidays, the Manchester Evening News reported.

After agreeing what looked to be the move of his dreams, Gascoigne took the summer to unwind back in his hometown, catching up with old friends before heading south to Manchester. It was during that time that he went for a drink with then-Tottenham man Chris Waddle.

“I went up to the North East one weekend,” Waddle told FourFourTwo. “Terry had given me an additional day off and said that if I saw my pal up there, to have a word about him potentially coming to Tottenham, because everyone knew he was leaving Newcastle.

“I got in touch with Gazza and arranged to meet in a pub at midday on the Sunday. He strolled in with his entourage, all his mates. I asked him who he was going to sign for and he replied, ‘Manchester United’. I said, ‘Why don’t you come to Spurs?’ I told him he could get lost in London and no one would find out half the stuff he’d do. If he moved to United, he’d have Alex Ferguson on his case all of the time, along with some senior players. I said Terry Venables was really knowledgeable and would look after him.”

“He said, ‘no’, he was still off to Manchester United. I said, ‘Fair enough’ and wished him the best of luck. I left the pub, then he came out with his friends shouting, ‘Waddler, see you at White Hart Lane on Monday!’ I thought he was joking around, but when I returned to London on the Tuesday, I was told Gazza had been at the club the previous day and signed a contract.”

Gascoigne may not have made his mind up that day but his chat with Waddle certainly planted a seed of doubt. The midfielder was on his way to Old Trafford when then-Tottenham chairman Irving Scholar called.