Manchester United great Sir Alex Ferguson talked about what he called ‘the saddest case’ of a player failing to realize his potential during his time at Old Trafford.
The Scot, who was at the helm at Old Trafford for 26 years, has seen many players make a name for themselves and become greats of the game. But for every Cristiano Ronaldo there is an Anderson, for every Ryan Giggs there is a Ravel Morrison, and the 73-year-old has expressed his disappointment that the 22-year-old never made it big at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United youth product was sold to West Ham in 2012, where he spent three years before moving to Italian side Lazio.
Ravel Morrison might be the saddest case – Ferguson
Ferguson believed that Morrison was as talented as any youngster he has signed during his time with the club, but it was his off-field struggles which restrained him from realising his true potential. Writing in his new book, Leading, as quoted by the Mirror, Ferguson said:
“Sadly, there are examples of players who have similar backgrounds to Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo, who, despite enormous talent, just aren’t emotionally or mentally strong enough to overcome the hurts of their childhood and their inner demons.
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“Ravel Morrison might be the saddest case. He possessed as much natural talent as any youngster we ever signed, but kept getting into trouble.
“It was very painful to sell him to West Ham in 2012 because he could have been a fantastic player. But, over a period of years, the problems off the pitch continued to escalate and we had little option but to cut the cord.”