– it’s broken from playing for Man United.’
I suppose the thinking was, ‘Let’s try to get him out as quick as we can. Let’s not drag this out till next week.’ This was Manchester United, one of the biggest media companies in the world. They spent a fortune on the image. And I was reading, ‘We’d like to thank Roy for his eleven and a half years at the club.’
But I’d been there twelve and a half years. And now I was thinking, ‘The game is up – no problem with that. But fuckin’ do it properly.’
I went, ‘You’ve got eleven and a half years there.’
The two of them were looking at each other.
And I said, ‘I’ve been here twelve and a half.’
‘Oh, is it twelve and a half, Roy? Oh, I wasn’t sure— Was it ’93 you came in? I can’t remember.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘The first year we won the Double.’
And David Gill said, ‘Oh, right, we’ll fix that.’
Michael was going, ‘I need to discuss this with my client.’
David Gill said, ‘Do you want five minutes together?’
And we said, ‘All right.’
So they went out, the manager and David Gill, and left us alone.
I said, ‘Come on, Michael, I’ve had enough of them – fuck’m. We’ve lost respect for each other.’
But Michael was going, ‘What—? What are you talking about? I can’t believe it. The contract— Your family—’
He was emotional about it; he was upset. Also, I was his client, and he was probably thinking, ‘This isn’t right, this isn’t fair.’
They came back in, and David Gill asked, ‘Is that enough time?’
I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you’re right. We’ve come to the end. But I’m not sure about— Where do I stand on my contract? Can I play for another club straightaway?’
That was what I meant about being ready for this, but notprepared. It was the worst thing I’d done – or not done. I’d known for a few days that they were going to try and get rid of me. I could have rung the PFA – the Professional Footballers’ Association – and got legal advice. What were the consequences if my contract was ended? There was the transfer window, in January. This was November. Could I sign for another team, immediately, outside the transfer window? And if I signed, would I be allowed to play immediately? For all my experience and for all the good advice I’d given to people over the years, I hadn’t taken heed of it myself.
I said to Ferguson, ‘Can I play for somebody else?’
And he said, ‘Yeah, you can. ’Cos we’re tearing up your contract.’
The secretary’s office was just across the corridor, and I thought – for just a second, ‘Before we shake hands on anything, or before I walk out or storm out, I’ll go across to find out where I stand contractually.’
But it had gone too far. Deep down, I didn’t give a shit.
So I thought, ‘All right— I’ll get fixed up.’
I knew there’d be clubs in for me when the news got out.
I said, ‘Yeah – I think we have come to the end.’
Michael still couldn’t believe it.
I just thought, ‘Fuckin’ pricks—’ and I stood up and went, ‘Yeah. I’m off.’
I left Michael to it. I’d gone in there at about nine o’clock; I think I was in my car by a quarter to ten. Maybe it was my way of coping, getting out as quickly as I could. Was it a childish way of coping? Was it my ‘I’d better get out of here before I fuckin’ kill somebody’ way of coping? I don’t know. I didn’t want to see the players – they’d all have been coming in by then. I didn’t want to be saying my goodbyes.
So maybe it was just my immature way – or mature way – of dealing with it.
I got into my car and drove out of the training ground. I pulled over just outside and cried for a couple of minutes. I just thought, ‘It’s over.’
I drove home.
I kept thinking, ‘We could have done this differently, surely.’ All this trivial stuff could have been managed much better. Not just by me, but by the
I suppose the thinking was, ‘Let’s try to get him out as quick as we can. Let’s not drag this out till next week.’ This was Manchester United, one of the biggest media companies in the world. They spent a fortune on the image. And I was reading, ‘We’d like to thank Roy for his eleven and a half years at the club.’
But I’d been there twelve and a half years. And now I was thinking, ‘The game is up – no problem with that. But fuckin’ do it properly.’
I went, ‘You’ve got eleven and a half years there.’
The two of them were looking at each other.
And I said, ‘I’ve been here twelve and a half.’
‘Oh, is it twelve and a half, Roy? Oh, I wasn’t sure— Was it ’93 you came in? I can’t remember.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘The first year we won the Double.’
And David Gill said, ‘Oh, right, we’ll fix that.’
Michael was going, ‘I need to discuss this with my client.’
David Gill said, ‘Do you want five minutes together?’
And we said, ‘All right.’
So they went out, the manager and David Gill, and left us alone.
I said, ‘Come on, Michael, I’ve had enough of them – fuck’m. We’ve lost respect for each other.’
But Michael was going, ‘What—? What are you talking about? I can’t believe it. The contract— Your family—’
He was emotional about it; he was upset. Also, I was his client, and he was probably thinking, ‘This isn’t right, this isn’t fair.’
They came back in, and David Gill asked, ‘Is that enough time?’
I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think you’re right. We’ve come to the end. But I’m not sure about— Where do I stand on my contract? Can I play for another club straightaway?’
That was what I meant about being ready for this, but notprepared. It was the worst thing I’d done – or not done. I’d known for a few days that they were going to try and get rid of me. I could have rung the PFA – the Professional Footballers’ Association – and got legal advice. What were the consequences if my contract was ended? There was the transfer window, in January. This was November. Could I sign for another team, immediately, outside the transfer window? And if I signed, would I be allowed to play immediately? For all my experience and for all the good advice I’d given to people over the years, I hadn’t taken heed of it myself.
I said to Ferguson, ‘Can I play for somebody else?’
And he said, ‘Yeah, you can. ’Cos we’re tearing up your contract.’
The secretary’s office was just across the corridor, and I thought – for just a second, ‘Before we shake hands on anything, or before I walk out or storm out, I’ll go across to find out where I stand contractually.’
But it had gone too far. Deep down, I didn’t give a shit.
So I thought, ‘All right— I’ll get fixed up.’
I knew there’d be clubs in for me when the news got out.
I said, ‘Yeah – I think we have come to the end.’
Michael still couldn’t believe it.
I just thought, ‘Fuckin’ pricks—’ and I stood up and went, ‘Yeah. I’m off.’
I left Michael to it. I’d gone in there at about nine o’clock; I think I was in my car by a quarter to ten. Maybe it was my way of coping, getting out as quickly as I could. Was it a childish way of coping? Was it my ‘I’d better get out of here before I fuckin’ kill somebody’ way of coping? I don’t know. I didn’t want to see the players – they’d all have been coming in by then. I didn’t want to be saying my goodbyes.
So maybe it was just my immature way – or mature way – of dealing with it.
I got into my car and drove out of the training ground. I pulled over just outside and cried for a couple of minutes. I just thought, ‘It’s over.’
I drove home.
I kept thinking, ‘We could have done this differently, surely.’ All this trivial stuff could have been managed much better. Not just by me, but by the
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