Sir Alex Ferguson today revealed that he feared he would never be able to speak again after a brain haemorrhage in 2018.
The ex-Manchester United boss, 79, also admitted worrying that he could lose his memory following emergency surgery.
The record-breaking football manager, recalling his post-op recovery, said: “I lost my voice, just could not get a word out, and that was terrifying – absolutely terrifying.
"Everything was going through my mind. Is my memory going to come back? Am I ever going to speak again?”
A speech therapist helped him to work through exercises – which included making him recall every member of his teams – and his voice came back after 10 days.
His confession came after the premiere of documentary Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, directed by his son Jason.
In the film, shot as he recovered from his op, he recounts his life’s most important stories – both in and out of football.
Sir Alex, who retired in 2013, opened up about his feelings during a virtual Q&A alongside Jason after the Glasgow Film Festival screening.
The Glasgow-born football legend also spoke of the hard-line determination that drove him to succeed.
Sir Alex was notorious for his raging blasts – know as the “hairdryer treatment” – at under-performing players.
He said: “My mindset in every game of football was to win.
"That was the only thing that mattered.”
