'Ferguson said United signed me to help win the Champions League'

Owen HargreavesImage source, Getty Images
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Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves says Sir Alex Ferguson told him he was signed to "help win the Champions League."

Hargreaves signed for the Red Devils in 2007 with Ferguson in search of his second European Cup success after defeating Bayern Munich in 1999.

Hargreaves told the Manchester United website:, external "I remember [when I arrived] he just said ‘these fans are very knowledgeable' and it was a bit along the lines of ‘you give them your best, they’ll appreciate that.’

"Before I came we spoke so much and he was one of the driving forces, one of the reasons why I wanted to come. Who doesn’t want to play under Sir Alex?

“He has this authority, this natural authority that everybody respected which was so important in a dressing room of 25 talented people from all over the world that are well paid. But he controlled the show."

Hargreaves' first game was a 1-0 defeat to rivals Manchester City and it proved an experience which opened his eyes to Sir Alex's standards.

Trailing at half-time he recalls being told to "hurry" to the changing room by Rio Ferdinand, who warned Hargreaves Ferguson would not be happy.

He added: “Just the fact that he did that [jogged in] knowing what could happen, it showed how much control Sir Alex had of the dressing room. I think that was so important because we just didn’t want to let the boss down. We all played with that intensity, and he demanded that. I think pretty much the reason he signed anyone was that he knew they would give him that."

Hargreaves, who played in the final when United won the Champions League in 2008, added: “One of the things Sir Alex said to me, I’ll never forget it, was, 'Owen we signed you to help us win the Champions League. You can be a part of that.'

"That was one of the big reasons I wanted to come. I wanted to be a part of this team, play at this stadium, with these fans. That group of players we had was just out of this world. You just wanted to be a piece of the puzzle.”

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