Sir Alex Ferguson reveals Ryan Giggs would have ended up playing for MAN CITY

SIR ALEX FERGUSON says Ryan Giggs' first big win was over Manchester City.

Fergie's contemptuous taunt about the 'noisy neighbours' after taking over Abu Dhabi has gone down in football history.

But the former United boss told Tony Pulis in Sky's 'Chasing the Dream' documentary that extracting Welsh wizard Giggs from City's clutches was a key moment in his Old Trafford success story.

Ferguson recalled: “At United there were quite a few players over the age of thirty.

“City got the absolute best young players at the time. They were going to win the Youth Cup.

“We had to put an end to that, so we increased scouting and worked very hard on that, especially in Manchester.

“We have the Phil and Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. David Beckham was the only one from the south.

“With Ryan Giggs we had a steward at the club who came to me and said, 'There's a young boy training at City, but he's a United fan.' You've got to get him.'

“We got him on the training pitch straight away, they were playing a practice match against Viv Anderson and Viv was shouting: 'Can I kick him? Can I tackle him?'

And I said, 'Don't you dare touch him! He's only 14.”

Giggs and Co were part of the group known as “Fergie's Fledglings” when they broke into the first-team squad.

The Scot added: 'When you get a gem like Giggs or Scholes it's staring you in the face.

“Scholes was an incredibly young player. You get diamonds like that, while Beckham was a late developer.

“The Nevilles always work hard and always make great sacrifices to become footballers.

“Nicky Butt – determined young lad, who will always make it.

“You also have a responsibility to give them the right guidance, to be strong in the path you take them on.

“Playing for Manchester United, playing in front of 75,000 spectators, playing in the cup final, playing for your country – these are all the stepping stones to which you guide them.”