Duncan Ferguson became widely known as a Premier League hardman – but the former Everton and Newcastle United star looks back on encounters with legends like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and wishes he’d done different
When he moved from Dundee United to Rangers for £4million in 1993, Duncan Ferguson became Britain’s record signing. Ferguson then went on to build a reputation as a fearsome striker with Everton and during a spell with Newcastle United.
Big Dunc was box office, one of the most recognisable figures in the Premier League, widely seen as the toughest guy in football.
While he admits it is an image he might have encouraged during his playing days, it is one that the 53-year-old Ferguson is now a bit embarrassed about.
And one particular example of his macho past makes him cringe, a moment when he turned his back on the most famous, possibly the nicest, man in English football.
Ferguson explains the background to the scene that he now regrets.
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“After a game when the final whistle went, I would just walk off the pitch. I would not go near anybody. Maybe that was building up that aura that I was a big hard case and people would be saying ‘don’t go near Duncan Ferguson, he’s going to flatten you’. Maybe I played on that a wee bit.”
And sure enough, when English football’s golden boy was looking for an end-of-match chat, Ferguson was having none of it.
Ferguson says: “I think Manchester United had just won the league at Everton – or just a crucial game there – and David Beckham shouted over to me.
“Hey Dunc, he said, and was wanting to shake my hand, putting his hand out. I turned round and said ‘f*** off’! I then turned my back as if to say ‘why would I want to shake your hand?’
“It was just daft. It was David Beckham, a legend of the Premier League, a world class footballer, won everything, incredible player … and there was me blanking him.
“As the years go on, you just think ‘what a t*** I was’! I should have been ripping the shirt off his back and keeping it as a memory for my kids. Cristiano Ronaldo? One of my sons idolised Ronaldo. I never even shook his hand. Daft things.
“So, David Beckham, sorry … although he will not be bothered his a*** about that. He won’t care two s***es!”
Big Dunc: The Upfront Autobiography by Duncan Ferguson, with Henry Winter, is published on 8th May by Century
WATCH: The Full interview with Duncan Ferguson and Chief Sports Writer Andy Dunn will be available on the Daily Mirror’s YouTube channel from 10am on Monday.
