After Ferguson's conversation with Gill, over ten days had passed and May had arrived. The day of his departure was drawing near. He knew that Gill might be supportive of his decision, but Malcolm was a different story. The Glazer family was like that - everything was aimed at making money. Promoting an assistant coach from the youth team, and not even the head coach, was a risky move. Malcolm would certainly struggle to accept such a decision.
However, Ferguson didn't care about all that. He had brought Tiger to his side from the youth team a few days ago, making him his second assistant coach. On May 12, 2013, Manchester United won 2-1 against Swansea at home, and Sir Ferguson completed his last game at Old Trafford, ending his career on a high note.
Although everything went smoothly in the league, Ferguson was very disappointed with the club because there was still no sign of them announcing his successor. Ferguson thought to himself, "Since you are not willing to make a decision, then I will force you to make one."
On May 19, 2013, in the final round of the Premier League, Manchester United drew 5-5 with West Bromwich Albion.
After the game, Sir Alex Ferguson held a press conference where he announced two things that shook the entire football world.
First, he completed his 1500th game as manager of Manchester United and officially announced his retirement.
Second, he strongly recommended TigerKing to be his successor at Manchester United.
On that day, everyone had the same question on their mind: Who is TigerKing?
On May 20, 2013, the first day of Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, a visitor arrived early in the morning.
A servant led a wealthy-looking old man into the living room, and Sir Alex Ferguson smiled and said, "Mr. Glazer, I rarely saw you during my coaching tenure, but as soon as I retire, you come to visit me."
Ferguson's words were a mockery of Glazer. The most criticized thing about the Glazer family is that since they acquired Manchester United, they have never set foot in Old Trafford Stadium, which has made many die-hard Manchester United fans very dissatisfied.
But Malcolm Glazer wasn't angry. He sat across from Ferguson and said, "Old friend, you played a great game yesterday."
Ferguson knew what he was talking about: "Since you're not in a hurry to choose a coach, let me make some suggestions for you. Don't rush to thank me, it's what I should do."
Malcolm Glazer smiled bitterly, "Old friend, with just one sentence from you, who would want to take over as the Manchester United manager? I'm afraid even the Martian football world knows that Sir Ferguson is endorsing TigerKing to be his successor. At this point, who would want to touch the hot potato that is Manchester United?"
"That's an easy problem to solve, just appoint Tiger," Ferguson said lightly.
Malcolm Glazer was silent for a while.
"What are you thinking? Coffee or tea?" Ferguson said, handing Malcolm Glazer a cup of warm water. "If you're thirsty now, I recommend this. Although the taste is a bit bland, it's the most refreshing."
Malcolm Glazer looked at the clear water in front of him for a moment, then looked up at Ferguson. "Sir, do you really think Tiger is suitable?"
"Trust my choice, there's no mistake, whether it's TigerKing or this cup of warm water. I swear by my loyalty to Manchester United, I want Manchester United to be better than anyone, including you." Sir Alex Ferguson said each word deliberately.
The two of them talked for a long time. An hour later, Malcolm walked out of Ferguson's three-story villa. Ferguson said from behind, "Mr. Glazer, do you need me to tell you where KingTiger lives? I believe you have a contract with you now."
Malcolm shook his head helplessly, "You're a sly old fox. You guessed everything."
"Go ahead, I'm not going anywhere these days. I'll just sit at home and wait for the news."
"Take care, Sir Alex. I'm leaving." Malcolm turned around but then turned back and said, "Sir, you won."
Ferguson's face was very serious at this point. "Mr. Glazer, you're wrong. It's not me who won, it's the club."
Malcolm drove away from Ferguson's home. He had decided to take a big gamble. As a successful businessman, he was good at gambling and rarely lost at critical moments.
But Malcolm didn't yet know that his decision today, this gambling-style decision, would once again make the Glazer family win, and this time they would win decades of the future.
The next day, Manchester United held a press conference where CEO David Gill unexpectedly announced that assistant coach of the Manchester United Youth Team, KingTiger, had become the new manager of Manchester United. This news immediately caused a huge stir in the entire English football world. Although at Ferguson's farewell press conference, Sir Alex had recommended TigerKing, almost everyone did not believe that KingTiger was suitable to take over as the manager of Manchester United. They believed that the club's new leader would almost certainly be Mourinho, as some journalists had already discovered that he had returned to England from Madrid and had been seen at the airport.
"Jose, how does it feel to be back home?"
"It feels great, except for the weather being a bit bad."
"Thank goodness you didn't sell your villa when you left, otherwise I would have had to lend you one of my houses."
At that moment, in a villa in London, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was welcoming his new guest, or rather, old friend, Jose Mourinho.
"I thought the news of you coming back this summer would be the most shocking, but I didn't expect Manchester United to be even more surprising. They actually promoted a young guy from the youth team, who is this Tigerking? They used a coach with no first-team coaching experience to replace Ferguson. Looks like Malkop must be getting old and confused." Abramovich teased, shaking the red wine in his hand.
Abramovich looked at the man sitting opposite him, Mourinho. Abramovich had once been as close as brothers with him, and they had also fallen out and gone their separate ways. However, when Chelsea was in crisis again, Abramovich reached out to this magical man for help. And after a difficult journey with Real Madrid, Mourinho was also looking forward to returning to the Premier League.
Hearing Abramovich's teasing, Mourinho shook his head: "Who knows, this Tigerking might be a figure like Guardiola, reaching the peak right from the start. But anyway..."
Mourinho smiled slightly: "I'm back, Mr. Tiger won't have an easy time."
At the same time, in another house in London, a gentlemanly Frenchman was also watching the Manchester United news conference on TV. He saw Tigerking's young face and breathed a sigh of relief: "The next Premier League season should be a bit easier."