Sir Alex Ferguson to return to Pittodrie for statue unveiling

Sir Alex Ferguson is to return to Pittodrie in February as Aberdeen FC unveil a statue in his honour.

The club has commissioned the statue to mark Sir Alex’s achievements at the club and it will be installed outside the stadium’s Richard Donald Stand.

Sir Alex will attend the official unveiling of the artwork on February 25 and will then watch the Premiership match against Dundee United the following day.

Aberdeen had only won five major trophies when Ferguson arrived at the club in 1978, having previously managed East Stirlingshire and St Mirren.

The former player transformed the team into the dominant force in Scottish football and won three league titles, four Scottish Cups and a League Cup in a seven-year spell.

His status as a managerial great was assured when he added to domestic trophies with a European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid in 1983, the club’s greatest ever victory. Aberdeen added the European Super Cup to the trophy cabinet months later, beating Hamburg 2-0 on aggregate.

Sir Alex left Aberdeen for Manchester United, where he became the English side’s most successful manager and achieved global fame as United won the Champions League twice in addition to 13 league titles and other cups.

Aberdeen’s commercial director, Rob Wicks, said: “This tribute to Sir Alex is going to be a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I would urge all Dons fans, young and old, to come to the match and join what is undoubtedly going to be a very special occasion.”