Sir Alex Ferguson summed up person he is with what he said after fining me two weeks’ wages
Ryan Giggs spent over 20 years playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and the Wales legend admits he fell out with the legendary manager on a number of occasions
Abbie Meehan Sports Writer U-35s
09:30, 29 Nov 2025
Ryan Giggs felt the wrath of Fergie on many occasions(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Ryan Giggs claims he was once docked a fortnight’s wages for answering back to Sir Alex Ferguson.
The former Manchester United winger admits that while the formidable boss would discipline players who spoke out of turn, he actually valued those who showed spirit in the dressing room. The 52-year-old Giggs dedicated over two decades to the club, racking up 963 appearances, 168 goals and 271 assists.
The Old Trafford legend claimed every major honour in club football, including two Champions League trophies and an impressive 13 Premier League titles. Yet he was once an emerging talent at the club who clashed with Ferguson on several tense occasions.
Speaking to beIN SPORTS’s The Champions Club in 2020, he said: “There was definitely fear, especially early on. He mellowed a little bit as he got older, but not a lot.
“Definitely early on, especially as a young player, he had this cough that you could hear. And if you heard that at our first training ground at The Cliff, you would very often turn the other way.
The duo won everything in club football at United(Image: John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
“You just didn’t want to cross him at 18, 19, 20 because you never knew what sort of mood he was in. So there was definitely that fear but ultimately there was always that respect, whether he had a go at you or you just fell out with him.”
Reflecting on the times he clashed with Ferguson, Giggs said: “I fell out with him plenty of times. I mean the amount of times I would say over my career, six or seven times where it was a couple of weeks wages I was fined for talking back, for having an argument.
“At the time it’s not very nice, you’re in the dressing room, you’ve just got beat or you’ve had a bad performance. And I just couldn’t help myself have a go back.”
Giggs admitted Fergie enjoyed getting a bit back from the younger players(Image: Julian Finney – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Yet the ex-winger pointed out that whilst Ferguson demanded respect at every turn, he actually valued it when younger players showed a bit of spirit in the dressing room. He added: “He actually, later in his career, he told me he liked that, it meant that you cared.
“He’d still fine you two weeks because he wanted to show that he was in charge but he actually quite liked it, as long as it didn’t cross the line of course.
“The good thing is, the next day it was finished. He would fine you two weeks wages, a week’s wages. The next day he’d get you in and it was over with, let’s move on.”
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