Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken on BBC’s Football Focus, and given us all an even deeper insight into his life as the manager. The Scot won two Champions Leagues and 13 Premier League titles during his time at United, but insists he only worked with four players he considered to be world class during his 26 years there.

From all the players he has worked with, he says midfielder Paul Scholes and attacking trio Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs were his best players.

“They made the difference and the evidence is there,” he told the BBC’s Dan Walker for Football Focus.

Ferguson said Cantona, who United signed from Leeds in November 1992, was “the catalyst.

“When we brought him in we won the league that season – it was his mere presence and his ability to make and score goals.”

“The younger breed like Ryan and Scholes were just fantastic players and the thing about those two was longevity.”

“Are there players who have played right through the whole of the Premier League and performed at the level they have? There are none, absolutely none.”

“Of course Ronaldo was just a complete genius of a player.”

Speaking about the inevitability of Ryan Giggs taking over as United boss in the future, Sir Alex pointed out that Louis van Gaal’s influence will greatly benefit him.

He said: “I think Ryan seems to enjoy that he is learning off a man with great experience. It’s working.”

“There is good communication, Ryan’s working very hard and picking up things from a foreign coach which is different from the way I operated so it looks as if it’s going OK.”

Here’s some interesting highlights given by BBC in Ferguson’s new book ‘Leading’:

On demanding his salary was doubled after Wayne Rooney’s big pay increase in 2010: “I told them I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I made and Joel Glazer immediately said: ‘I totally agree with you but what should we do?’ It was simple. We just agreed that no player should be paid more than me.”

On leaving Manchester United in 2013: “I understand why critics, particularly in light of the 2013-14 season, say we should have handled the transition better.”

On losing Paul Pogba to Juventus: “We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. His agent Mino Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco. He and I were like oil and water.”

On Mario Balotelli: “In 2010 I briefly flirted with the idea of signing him. I did my homework on him, speaking to a few Italian contacts, but the feedback I got confirmed it was too big a risk.”

On Ryan Giggs as a manager: “Ryan is eventually going to be a great manager – he has intelligence, presence and knowledge. Had he retired in his mid-thirties, rather than when he was 40, there is every chance that he would have been my assistant in my final five years at Manchester United.”

On Jose Mourinho’s success in 2004-05: “It did not hurt that he spent almost £100m during his first season at the club. However, he is a great leader and spectacular manager who has achieved major triumphs in four different countries. It’s hard to think of anyone else who has done that.”

[All quotes and information is sourced directly from BBC]