Sir Alex Ferguson sensationally resigned as Manchester United boss 12 months before he led the club to their unprecedented treble triumph in the 1998/99 season.
That is according to former Red Devils chairman Martin Edwards who, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, made the shock revelation about the legendary United manager's blink-and-you'll-miss-it departure in July 1998.
Ferguson and his squad had just been pipped to the Premier League title by Arsene Wenger's Arsenal juggernaut and Edwards explained how his and the rest of the board's honesty with Ferguson led the Scot to almost call time on his Old Trafford career 15 years earlier than he eventually did.