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One of the most powerful clubs in the World, the head coach Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that the team's star, Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club because the coach decided not to let him onto the field during the 2006 "Carling" Cup final.
The Dutch national team forward left Manchester on July 28, when he moved to Real Madrid for 10 million pounds sterling.
Ferguson explained that no player is happy when they don't get to play, but players react in very different ways to it.
"Each player reacts differently to such a situation. Ruud reacted poorly and that's what happened," the strategist said.
Although during his five years spent at Old Trafford stadium, the Dutchman scored as many as 150 goals, at the end of the previous season he had lost his place in the starting lineup of the Red Devils to the Frenchman Louis Saha.
Only after moving to Real, R. van Nistelrooy stated that the only reason he wanted to leave Manchester was his relationship with A. Ferguson.
However, Ferguson himself told journalists that nowadays teams have very large squads and even the best players can sometimes lose their place in the starting lineup.
"It is very difficult for the coach, because in every match he selects the team composition and has to tell two or three players that they won't play," said the Scotsman. "It's difficult because those players are stars, former stars, or because he has a special relationship with them."
"There is nothing else to do but hope that the players will agree with your decision motives," the coach said. "Of course, sometimes players don't agree with your decision, but that doesn't bother me."
Earlier, Ferguson had stated that in the Carling Cup final, L. Saha deserved to play more because he had played in most of the previous cup stages.
