Mads Timm only made one appearance for Manchester United.
The former forward spent six years at Old Trafford, with his sole appearance for the first-team coming against Maccabi Haifa as a second-half substitute in the Champions League back in 2002. He was released in 2006, a year after being convicted of dangerous driving for his part in a high-speed chase.
Timm’s career subsequently never took-off. He went on to play for a few clubs in his native Denmark, before retiring in 2009.
"Like me, he was bullied when he came to the club" https://t.co/ma7zfs7jXf
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 12, 2016
However, the 31-year-old evidently witnessed and experienced enough at Old Trafford to give him sufficient material for a book. Timm’s autobiography Red Devil is being serialised by Danish media outlet BT, and a number of stories have already emerged.
Timm offered insight into Cristiano Ronaldo’s early days at the club, and recalled the time Alex Ferguson allegedly called him a “f****** idiot” and snapped at him after the Dane referred to the United manager by his first name.
Timm has also made an allegation against the Scot, claiming that Ferguson gave preferential treatment to young players who signed with his agent son, Jason.
The Dane claims he was passed over for a first-team place for someone who was, in his opinion, a lesser player because the player had signed with Ferguson’s son.
Note to self: never piss off Alex Ferguson https://t.co/cTMoUf9g6S
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) October 13, 2016
Timm claims he was told he wouldn’t be playing for the U19 team or the reserves because he was due to be part of the first-team squad for a Champions League game against Basel.
“It was a big message to get after a winter where I had still not played for the first-team other than the autumn game against Maccabi Haifa,” Timm writes.
However, when he reported for the game, Timm claims he was told to go home and prepare for U19 training the following day, and that Brian McClair, a United youth coach, told him: “Mads, listen here. Occasionally happens unjust things in football that you cannot explain.”
“It was something of an anticlimax. What was going on? Brian McClair couldn’t really answer. But a few days after I found out that my competitor in the attack in the reserve teams, Danny Webber, had signed a contract with Alex Ferguson’s son, Jason, who had set up as a football agent.
“At the same time Webber [had his contract] extended by United. It was an open secret at training that both Alex Ferguson and his son had made a good deal, and that Webber had to be rewarded with a place on the bench in a Champions League match. Webber had otherwise not played particularly well for a long time, and I was way ahead of him in the internal competition for places.
“Evidently [form] did not matter. It was important that the father promoted his son’s interests. Ferguson had repeatedly reminded me that his son was a football agent and wanted new clients in, but I refused. Only that day it dawned on me how much impact it had on my career.”
In 2004, a BBC investigation alleged Jason Ferguson had broken Fifa rules during transfers. The broadcaster’s investigation didn’t go down well with the former United manager, who boycotted the BBC until 2011.
Ferguson condemned the allegations in the report, calling it a “poor documentary” during an interview with Channel 4 in 2013. He also took issue with the fact that the BBC have never apologised to him.
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