Sir Alex Ferguson: 'I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I made'

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't stand to make less money than any of his players, including Wayne Rooney.

Rooney signed a deal that was about to take his salary above Ferguson's in 2010, even after the striker announced his concerns about the ambition of the club and, ultimately, his intention to leave.

"I told them I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I made," Ferguson writes in "Leading," his new book on management, according to BBC Sport. "(United co-chairman) Joel Glazer said: 'I totally agree but what should we do?' It was simple. We just agreed no player should be paid more than me.

"We agreed in less time than it takes to read the previous sentence."

But the Glazer family was determined to keep hold of England's top scorer as Manchester City circled around him during that standoff. City had already cherry-picked Carlos Tevez from United in 2009, and a similar switch would be damaging.

So they gave Rooney a new £250,000-a-week contract, which did not sit well with the manager.

Ferguson, whose famous hairdryer treatment of players earned international fame, also admitted that his temper would sometimes get the best of him.

"I didn't need to lose my temper as much," he said. "When I was young I was ferocious. I just wanted to rule the world so my anger would be obvious."

Ferguson won virtually every competition in his 17 years with United, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, and two Champions League titles.

He retired in 2013, and has since become an ambassador for United, as well as a teacher at Harvard Business School.