In 2018, after a complicated emergency brain surgery, doctors gave Sir Alex Ferguson only a 20% chance of survival, but once again the legendary coach managed to overturn the predictions and amaze everyone. Today, the Scot is approaching the age of 85 with age-related problems, but he has passed the most critical moment of his life and has returned to follow Manchester United from his seat at Old Trafford.
On the BBC Breakfast show, he recounted the drama of the cerebral hemorrhage that almost cost him his life eight years ago and for which he had to face a difficult and very long recovery process. Against all odds, he returned to good health and, despite some minor injuries, continues his daily life normally, having left behind a terrible experience.
Ferguson risked death in 2018
The cerebral haemorrhage required emergency hospitalisation and even after surgery, Sir Ferguson was given little chance of survival. The former manager vividly recalls the days after that moment, when he didn't know if he would ever recover: "I was terrified. I had lost my voice, I couldn't speak. It was a terrifying moment."
The operation was very delicate and other patients who were in the hospital with him at the time did not survive. After the operation, Ferguson had completely lost the ability to speak: “I remember my grandchildren coming to visit me and I had lost my voice, I couldn’t speak anymore. They called a therapist, who started making me do things like write the names of birds, the names of animals, the names of rivers. That’s how I regained my voice.”
Only after a very long recovery did the former manager leave the hospital and four months later he returned to the stadium for the first time to watch United. He was greeted with love from the fans, who gave him a standing ovation so touching that it brought tears to his wife Cathy, who later passed away in 2023, aged 84.
