Ferguson attends Hayes' final Chelsea match against Man Utd at Old Trafford

18 May 2024 , 13:52

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Sir Alex Ferguson will attend Man Utd Women's final match of the season at Old Trafford (Image: 2024 AMA Sports Photo Agency)

Sir Alex Ferguson will attend Manchester United Women's final Women's Super League match of the season as Marc Skinner's side bid to stop defending champions Chelsea from achieving a fifth league title on the trot.

United are coming off the back of a maiden Women's FA Cup triumph after their 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The trophy is set to be paraded around Old Trafford before kick-off on Saturday.

Skinner and co will be hoping to ensure that the only trophy paraded on the pitch is theirs as Chelsea remain locked in one of the fiercest WSL title races in recent history, leading Manchester City by goal difference.

Chelsea's desire to claim a fifth league title on the bounce -- their seventh in the last 12 years -- has even more jeopardy given the match will mark long-time manager Emma Hayes final match at the helm of the club.

Hayes, 47, has become one of women's football's most renowned and successful manager, building Chelsea into a domestic juggernaut with a staggering 15 trophies accrued in 12 years.

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The behemoth that Hayes has created is not unlike the beast Ferguson crafted during his reign with Manchester United. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, the last of which was achieved in his final season with the club.

Hayes will hope to emulate Ferguson in that regard, after missing out on the Continental Cup, FA Cup and Champions League trophies.

And according to the Telegraph, the former United manager will watch from the stands of Old Trafford to take in the occasion.

Ferguson reached out to Hayes earlier this year after news broke that the long-time Blues boss would be departing for the USA to restore the former reigning world champions to their previous glory.

Ferguson's attendance arrives less than a week after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's non-attendance at United's FA Cup triumph sparked outrage on social media, with many fans and journalists criticising the club's new minority owner for supposed hypocrisy after electing to attend the men's 1-0 loss to Arsenal later that afternoon at Old Trafford instead.

Majority owner Avram Glazer was in attendance at Wembley, and was roundly booed by fans when he appeared on the screens at the stadium.

Megan Feringa