Sir Alex Ferguson: fans begged me not to sell Paul Ince to Inter — and I ignored them

Sir Alex Ferguson has lifted the lid on the furious reaction from Manchester United supporters when he sold Paul Ince to Inter Milan in the summer of 1995 — and insisted he has never regretted the hard call.

During an interview about his new book, Games of My Life, Ferguson produced old letters sent to him by disgruntled fans amid speculation over Ince's future. One read: 'Don't sell Incey to Inter — or you'll regret it'. Another simply said: 'Every Red is disgusted with you'.

"Paul was a tremendous footballer, there's no doubt about that," Ferguson said. "He had incredible ability, but I just had that feeling that he just got carried away a bit at the time.

"He then got this offer from Inter Milan. I'm trying to weigh up one thing against the other. I'm looking at Paul Scholes and I said 'should we?' Milan's offer went from £7m to £7.5m and I said 'do it'.

"That's what your job is as a manager. You have to make hard decisions, and some decisions don't suit everyone."

The 'big-time Charlie' remark he regrets

Also on the table was a notebook containing words Ferguson used to scribble down before addressing his players. Among the names on the list were Second World War general Bernard "Monty" Montgomery, former prime minister Winston Churchill — and Ince.

"I didn't notice that before. I couldn't escape him," Ferguson laughed.

He once described Ince as a "big-time Charlie", a remark he now regrets. "I regret saying that. That was a mistake," he said. The pair have since reconciled: "He's a good friend of mine. He used to come over and play snooker with me. He texted me not so long ago."

Answering the 'you can't win anything with kids' jibe

Ince, 27, and forward Mark Hughes, 31, were moved on that summer to Inter and Chelsea respectively, while Ryan Giggs, 21, Gary Neville, 20, Paul Scholes, 20, and David Beckham, 20, were beginning to make their names. After a youthful United side lost 3-1 at Aston Villa in August 1995, former Liverpool and Scotland defender Alan Hansen delivered his famous verdict: "You can't win anything with kids."

By the end of the season, Ferguson's side had won the Premier League and FA Cup double.

"We'd worked really hard getting youth into the club again and this bunch of young lads became the spirit of Manchester United," he said. "They added something. Apart from the great abilities they had, they had desire. I put Beckham out on loan at Preston [in March 1995] and he thought I was trying to get rid of him, which was not true.

"David was the last to really develop because of his physique. Although he grew to 6ft, he was small and thin as a young kid."

Asked whether he ever feared throwing so many youngsters in at the deep end could backfire, Ferguson pointed to his earlier managerial career. "I did exactly the same when I was in charge at St Mirren and Aberdeen," he said. "I had belief in young people because if you give them an opportunity there are two things that happen — they become real stars and they can remain loyal to you as a manager."