Kanchelskis: I once called Fergie a “Scottish bastard”. Everybody laughed. Thankfully, he did too…

The former Soviet Union, CIS and Russia international swapped Shakhtar Donetsk for the Premier League in 1991 and helped the Red Devils clinch a first title in 26 years.However, the wideman’s Old Trafford career could have been over as soon as it had begun after being fooled into cursing the club’s supremo on the training ground.Speaking exclusively in the February 2018 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, he says: "I once called Fergie a 'Scottish bastard' – although not on purpose. My new team-mates taught me to say that to Ferguson at training, but I didn’t realise what it meant.“That sort of thing happens if any player goes to a new country – when I played in Russia, everyone taught a Brazilian player to say, 'F**k off' to the coach. When I called Fergie a 'Scottish bastard' everybody laughed! Thankfully, he did too…”And Kanchelskis, who spent a brief loan spell at Manchester City in 2001 following stints at Everton, Fiorentina and Rangers, reveals that he didn’t know which of the two Manchester clubs he was joining when he first touched down in England back in 1991.“When I flew to England, no one told me which club I was going to," says the 48-year-old. "I asked my agent and he just said, 'To Manchester'.“I asked, 'Which club?' and he replied, 'I don’t know'. When we landed, we were driven to Old Trafford – then I realised that it was United.“When I first met Ferguson he said, 'Tomorrow, you’re training'. Nobody told me I’d be training.“I hadn’t brought my boots! I went to buy some, but they were terrible. They didn’t fit properly. I played badly in a friendly, but fortunately they still gave me a contract!”Read the full interview with Andrei Kanchelskis in the February 2018 issue of FourFourTwo magazine – a ’90s special in which we recall 90 things we loved about the decade and interview a host of icons including Fabrizio Ravanelli, Matt Le Tissier, Jorge Campos, Philippe Albert and Brian Laudrup. Plus, we look back on the Ajax side that took Europe by storm, dust off the VCR to review some football VHS ‘classics’, hear from Jimmy Glass about his famous last-gasp goal for Carlisle United and go One-on-One with former Norwich, Blackburn, Chelsea and Celtic striker Chris Sutton. Order a copy now, and then subscribe!