Sir Alex Ferguson
Kick It Out caught up with him to talk about his experiences and find out his thoughts on racism in football.
You're known as a great motivator. How do you motivate young black players to overcome racism?
All people will come up against barriers in life. The first thing you think is "I don't deserve this." But you have to be determined to overcome it. You've got to have a sort of blinkered approach to it, and think, "This is not going to stop me".
The situation today is better than it was 20 years ago, and 20 years ago it was better than 30 year ago. So progress eventually eliminates a lot of what is going on.
But when the prejudice stops people getting a job, puts them out of a job, or stops them getting a place on the team because of their colour, that is real racism to me.
When Eric Cantona reacted to racist abuse at Crystal Palace a few years ago he was suddenly a hero to lots of people. Do you think it's important for players to take a stand?
It's a great thing to take a stand against racism. At first I thought Eric would have to leave because of that incident but you can't just condemn a man because he lost his temper, no matter how bad it looks to the media.
What you've got to measure is what it was like in the past. Viv Anderson was the first black player to be capped for England. That was a big step.
And I remember when John Barnes went to Goodison Park, and they threw bananas at him, I never understood that.
Football is obviously a source of good for bringing people together, and dealing with things like racism. Why is it so powerful?
Football is the best vehicle to handle most ills in the world, simply because it's the most participatory sport in the world, and it's the most keenly watched sport in the world.
It creates a fervour among fans, and people's identities are interwoven into a club, from their grandfather to their father. It can be the most dominant part of people's lives, the whole strength of their life can be in the football ground.
To young kids, footballers are heroes, and if heroes are saying ,"racism, I'm not into that, I respect everyone", it has an effect. Football is the strongest vehicle in the world.
If you had the power to change things what would you want to change?
I think it's all down to education and how people are brought up. I was brought up in a family where there was never any prejudice. I think education from the family and school are the most important things.
If parents are saying to their kids "Don't play with that Charlie down the road because he is black," what message does that give? I think education is the secret.
Could you see a black coach taking over the manager's role at Old Trafford?
I can see black people involved in all positions. I have no doubt about that. You can't beat quality or progress.
Let's be honest it's not a bad world we're living in but we can make it better with education. It transcends everything.
