Former England Hall of Famer blames legendary coach Alex Ferguson for Manchester United's current downfall

Manchester United’s struggles in the 2024-25 season have sparked intense debate about the club’s long-term decline. Former England striker and Hall of Famer Gary Lineker believes that some of the blame for United’s ongoing crisis should be attributed to former manager Alex Ferguson and the manner in which he left the club.

United’s campaign has been nothing short of disastrous, with their FA Cup dreams ending in heartbreak on Sunday night following a penalty shootout loss to Fulham. The club sacked Erik ten Hag in November and appointed Ruben Amorim as the coach, but the change in leadership didn’t yield any change in fortunes. The Red Devils are currently placed 14th in the Premier League table with just 9 wins in 27 matches.

Gary Lineker on Man Utd’s decline

Speaking after United’s FA Cup defeat, Lineker suggested that Ferguson’s exit in 2013 left the club in disarray. Since Ferguson stepped down, United have struggled to replicate their past dominance, winning just five trophies in 14 years.

Drawing comparisons with Liverpool’s current situation, where Jurgen Klopp left the club in a strong position for Arne Slot, Lineker pointed out the key differences in how Ferguson’s exit impacted United.

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“If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jürgen Klopp left the club in a really good state. So the structure is really good,” Lineker told BBC One.

“That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at Old Trafford. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. I think from there they had problems. The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before,” he added.

Since Ferguson’s departure, United have seen several managers come and go including David Moyes (2013-14), Louis van Gaal (2014-16), Jose Mourinho (2016-18), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2018-2021), and Erik ten Hag (2022-24), all of whom struggled to bring the club back to its former glory.