Sir Alex Ferguson regrets ‘disastrous’ decision to pull out of Cup

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After winning the world's oldest domestic Cup competition in 1999, United did not enter the following year to defend the trophy and received a storm of criticism as a result.

Many critics have since argued that the FA Cup has never fully recovered from the decision, taken as a direct consequence of United's involvement in the Club World Championship in Brazil.

"It turned out to be a disaster for us," Ferguson admitted to club magazine Inside United.

"We did it to help England's World Cup bid and that was the political situation.

"I regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn't our fault at all.

"The Football Association and the government felt that playing in this tournament would help England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

"There was a lot of undue criticism — but it was a great two-week break."

Ironically, Ferguson has always felt the move benefited United in the 1999/2000 season because they were able to recharge their batteries in the South American sunshine while major rivals Arsenal and Leeds struggled in their absence.

Refreshed and raring to go, Ferguson's team went on to retain the Premier League championship by a record-breaking 18 points.

However, as a traditionalist, Ferguson was never entirely comfortable with the move the club made.
United have won the competition five times — and been beaten in three other finals — during the Scot's 23-year tenure.

Meanwhile, Ferguson expressed his delight today at 18-year-old Federico Macheda's decision to sign a four-year contract extension with the club.

The United boss said: "Everyone at the club recognises the fantastic talent he has and we hope to see that develop in the next years, so he becomes a well-rounded player. We are delighted by the new four-year deal."