Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he misses life as a football manager, in his first extended interview in years.

The iconic manager, 82, retired from management at the end of the 2012-13 season, after leading Manchester United to their 13th Premier League title in what was his 27th year at the club.

United have struggled for success ever since his departure, with Manchester City leading the way for much of the last decade.

In his first major interview in years, Ferguson spoke to BBC Breakfast about life post retirement.

When asked how life is, he responded: ‘Good yeah, I have been retired 11 years now so you find a way of adjusting.

Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he misses life as a manager

Ferguson retired on the back of winning his 13th Premier League title in the 2012-13 season

Ferguson still attends Manchester United games and has also been seen at a number of European finals and admitted the latter are ‘games that he can relate to’

Ferguson said he was keeping himself out of trouble, and when asked if he misses life as a manager, he said: ‘Yeah, I miss it sometimes.

‘I think the first year after retirement, I went to the European final and I said to Cathy ‘this is what I miss’ – big games, the European games.

‘So then I went to most of the European finals because I find something I can relate to, something I would liked to have done every day.

‘Because these are the big events that United should always be involved in.’

Ferguson has been seen at Champions League finals over the last decade despite the Red Devils not reaching that stage of the competition in that time.

During his reign as manager at Old Trafford, United won the Champions League as part of their iconic Treble in 1999 and again in 2008.

United also reached finals in 2009 and 2011, but lost on both occasions to Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona side.

Ferguson until this day still also regularly attends Manchester United games both home and away, and at Old Trafford he has had a stand named after since 2011.

He also has a statue outside the stadium which was unveiled by his late wife Cathy.

Cathy, who sir Alex described as his ‘bedrock,’ died at the age of 84 last October.

Lifting the lid on how he has coped since Cathy’s death, Ferguson said: ‘Well, 58 years is a long long time, she was a great great wife, a fantastic mother and a great grandmother.

‘She was the leader of the band, no doubt about that.’

Sir Alex pictured alongside his wife Lady Cathy Ferguson at Old Trafford in November 2012

Ferguson is regarded by many as the greatest manager of all time after his incredible success

Sir Alex suffered a brain haemorrhage back in 2018, after which he underwent a successful emergency surgery at Salford Royal Hospital.

Ferguson also spoke to BBC Breakfast as part of National Playlist Day, which is used to celebrate the power of personalised music playlist for those living with dementia.

He opened up on his fear of losing his memory after the likes of football icons Bobby Charlton and Denis Law suffered with the degenerative disease.

Manchester United legend Charlton passed away aged 86 last October after a battle with dementia, while Law is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 84.

Speaking about himself, Ferguson said: ‘I’m 82, obviously I worry about it. Genuinely my memory is quite good, praise the lord, touch wood – I don’t know if it will stay that way.

‘But I worry about it, 100%. I would be lying if I felt I was anywhere different.’

He added: ‘I read a lot, I do quizzes, and I think that helps, there is the YouTube quizzes with 100 questions and if I don’t get 70 per cent I’m struggling.’

Ferguson has watched Pep Guardiola’s Man City take over at the top since his departure

Ferguson spent 27 years at Old Trafford after previously coaching a number of teams in Scotland including Aberdeen, St Mirren and the national team

Until this day, United have struggled to replace Ferguson, with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick coming and going since the Scot’s exit.

Erik ten Hag kept his job by the skin of his teeth thanks to their FA Cup final win over Manchester City, but still has pressure hanging over him with new owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS desperate to turn things around and bring United back to their glory days.