DAILY STAR
Sir Alex Ferguson once offered Manchester United icon Paul McGrath £100,000 to retire on the spot, but was turned down.
McGrath is one of the unsung heroes of English football. The Irishman is one of just six defenders to win the PFA Player of the Year award in its 50 year history and is heralded by those who played with him as one of the greatest stars of his generation.
So why did Ferguson try to lure him into an early retirement, you ask? Because of the one thing McGrath had a hard time tackling – his alcoholism.
Problems with booze have plagued the England-born Ireland international for the majority of his adult life, and they very nearly cost him his career when he was just 29.
Speaking to The Telegraph, McGrath revealed that in an attempt to stamp out the drinking culture at United, Ferguson offered the biggest boozer in the squad a lucrative one-way ticket out of the club.
