Michael Owen has opened up on the conversation he had with Sir Alex Ferguson the day before the Manchester United legend fell ill on Sunday afternoon.
Ferguson, 84, was taken to hospital as a precaution after feeling unwell in the build up to United’s 3-2 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford, stirring concern among legions of adoring Red Devils fans.
The Scot is now recuperating at home and Owen, who played for Ferguson between 2009 and 2012, told talkSPORT that he spoke to his former boss the day before his health turn.
‘I spoke to him, I was on the phone to him for forty minutes that morning.
‘We’re talking about football. We’re talking about horses. As I say, he’s got horses here [at his Manor House Stables].
‘Most Saturday mornings, he gives me a call, and we go through all the horses for the day, and we share what we know and things like that.
Michael Owen spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson for 40 minutes the day before his health turn
Legendary United boss Ferguson went to hospital as a precaution after he felt unwell
‘We might have actually, we might have his horse running on Friday at Chester.
‘So yeah, I speak to him regularly, and he sounded absolutely brilliant, sharp as a tack as normal.
‘We were talking a lot about Scottish football and what was happening up there.
‘So it was such a shock to hear, obviously, that the next day he was taken unwell, but hopefully it’s not too serious.’
Sir Alex – the most successful manager in the club’s history – is a regular at United home and away matches and still attends despite losing his ambassadorial status as part of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting measures.
Ferguson suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018 from which he recovered after surgery. There is nothing to suggest this incident is related.
Ferguson was given a 20 per cent chance to live by doctors during the 2018 episode but showed every ounce of his fighting spirit to defy the odds and make a recovery.
‘There were five brain haemorrhages that day,’ Ferguson, who was 79 at the time, said in his 2021 ‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In’ film. ‘Three died. Two survived. You know you are lucky.’
Thirteen-time Premier League champion Ferguson also suffered the immense sadness of losing his wife Cathy in 2023.
Lady Cathy, Ferguson’s wife of 57 years, died at the age of 84.
Manchester United has remained a constant in Ferguson’s life, even despite losing his role as an ambassador.
In 2024, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe axed Ferguson’s paid ambassadorial role as part of severe cost-cutting measures which saw United’s staff reduced by hundreds.
A huge number of United fans sent their well wishes to Ferguson after Sunday’s news
But that has not deterred Ferguson from being a familiar face in the directors’ box.
‘I sat down with Alex, just the two of us in the room. And I said, “Look, the club isn’t where you may think it is. It is spending more than it’s earning and we’re going to finish up in some difficulties. Honestly, we can’t really afford to continue to pay you £2million a year,”‘ Ratcliffe explained a year ago.
‘I said, “I’m going to leave it with you, let you have a think about it.” It was very grown up. Maybe a little bit grumpy at the beginning, but he got it.
‘He came back three days later, after talking to his son and said, “Fine, I’m going to step away from it. My decision.”‘
Ratcliffe added: ‘I think it reflects really well on Alex because he put the club before himself.’
