Former Man Utd coach in match fixing scandal

A football agent, Giuseppe Pagliara, has claimed he gave former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, a £30,000 Rolex in exchange for fixing a Champions League match, according to the UK Mirror.

The 64-year-old also told an undercover reporter posing as a businesswoman, that Sir Alex worked with agents to make money from transfer deals.

The claims were heard during the opening of the bribery trial of Pagliara, fellow agent Dax Price, 48, and Scot Tommy Wright, 53, the former assistant head coach of Barnsley.

Describing one meeting in Manchester in June 2016, prosecutor Brian O’Neill QC told Southwark Crown Court yesterday: “Pagliara launched into what could only be described as a diatribe of Sir Alex Ferguson… He claimed that he had paid Ferguson before.”

O’Neill QC added: “Towards the end of the meeting Pagliara launched into what could only be described as a diatribe of Sir Alex Ferguson, accusing him of having conspired with Pagliara to fix the result of a football match between Juventus, a club which Pagliara was associated with, and Manchester United in the Champions League for which Pagliara had thanked him with a gold 30 grand Rolex watch.

“Pagliara went on to accuse Sir Alex Ferguson of having taken money as part of transfer deals. He claimed that he had paid Ferguson before.”