It is difficult to find a more popular club that was more followed and, therefore, more watched at that time. So, when a problem arises in such an environment, it naturally causes a big fuss.
One such incident occurred after the Red Devils' defeat by their great rival, Arsenal, 22 years ago, on February 15th, 2003.
It was a Saturday. Manchester United faced their rivals from London, in the round of 16 of the FA Cup. The match was played at Old Trafford, the home of the Red Devils.
At the time, both teams were at the absolute top of not only English but also world football. Both sides had exceptional teams led by fantastic managers, as well as great competitors: Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Manchester United did not play well at all. Edu and Sylvain Wiltord scored for the Arsenal either side of half-time seeing Arsenal win 2-0 and eliminate the Red Devils from the FA Cup in front of a sold-out crowd at their 'Theatre of Dreams'.
The result, but also the performance, infuriated their manager. What then took place in the United dressing room is probably the most (in)famous football dressing room incident in the history of world football.
Anger leading to injury
After the loss, Ferguson caused a huge uproar in his team's dressing room. He cursed at his players from the bottom of his lungs. One of the main victims of his reprimands was Beckham, and it should be added that he probably deserved it.
Beckham made a mistake leading to one of the Arsenal goals and he later admitted that he had not had a good game.
But something else also happened. In a fit of rage, Ferguson kicked a football boot that was lying on the floor in front of him. He kicked it right in the direction of Beckham, and with such precision that the famous footballer ended up with a cut on his eyebrow.
Breakdown of relations and Beckham's departure
Passions flared up and the tabloid journalists, who are - especially in the UK - indeed very inventive and persistent, fueled them. There was immediate discussion about the tense atmosphere between Ferguson and Beckham. However, their relationship was always considered very strong and special as Beckham was part of the famous 'Class of '92'.
The Class of '92 is the famous generation of Manchester United players who broke into the first team in (or around) 1992. Six players, who were teammates on the Red Devils youth teams at the time, are part of this group: Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and Beckham.
The incident and all circumstances led to a great deal of transfer speculation with bookmakers offering odds on whether Beckham or Ferguson would be the first to leave the club.
However, both actors in the clash later spoke calmly about it. Beckham said: "It was a complete freak accident. It was forgotten straight away within the club, but the incident made headlines which meant that people started to speculate about our relationship.
"But as far as the boss and I were concerned it was over, done and dusted."
Despite this incident, David made 52 appearances for Manchester United in the 2002/03 season, scoring 11 goals. He won the 2003 Premier League title with the Red Devils. However, in the summer of 2003, Beckham eventually left his beloved club and headed to Real Madrid.