Sir Alex Ferguson has said he let his wife down by not telling a Rangers director to “F*** off” when he asked about her being a Catholic.
The former Aberdeen, Scotland and Manchester United manager was quizzed about wife Cathy’s religion when he was signing for the Ibrox club in 1967.
Ferguson, 79, told how the club official wanted to make sure he had not got married in a Catholic chapel before he put pen to paper.
In a new documentary Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, the football legend said he didn’t say anything at the time because he was desperate to play for the club he supported as a boy growing up in Govan, Glasgow.
He said: “Glasgow is a city where there is a divide. It’s Protestant and Catholic, Rangers and Celtic.
“I heard Rangers wanted to sign me and of course having supported Rangers as a boy and having lived 200 yards from the ground I was pretty excited about it.
“I put on my best suit and went across to Ibrox. The big marble hall, it’s quite impressive.
“When I signed for Rangers, one of the directors asked me about Cathy.
“He says, ‘I have to ask you a question about your wife. I believe she is Catholic, were you married in a chapel?’.
“I said, ‘No we got married in the registry office,’ and he says, ‘Oh, that’s OK’.
“I should have told him to f*** off.
"I really should have but having supported Rangers as a boy and having the opportunity to go out and play for Rangers, you are prepared to take nonsense.
“I let myself down there and I let my wife down – that was the most important thing – because she was a devout Catholic.”
In the film, which had its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival at the weekend, Cathy, 82, says: “We were different religions and it did cause problems.
"That’s the way it was then so we just said we would have a civil wedding in Glasgow registry office.
“It was his boyhood dream come true (to sign for Rangers).
“My memories with Rangers weren’t very happy.”
Ferguson never played for Rangers again after being made a “scapegoat” for the 1969 4-0 Scottish Cup final defeat by Celtic.
He said: “I was completely bombed out, training on my own.
“I can only assume it was because of Cathy being a Catholic. I’m sure of it.”
The documentary, directed by Ferguson’s son Jason, documents his recovery from a brain haemorrhage he suffered in May 2018.
He tells how he feared he would never speak again and lose his memory after waking up from emergency surgery following the near death experience.
Ferguson retired from the Old Trafford hot seat in May, 2013, after 27 years at the helm during which he won 38 trophies, including two Champions League titles.
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In will be in cinemas from May 27 and on Amazon Prime from May 29.
