Aberdeen FC to honour Sir Alex Ferguson with statue

Aberdeen Football Club are to honour Sir Alex Ferguson with a statue to commemorate his outstanding contribution to the club.

The bronze statue will be the first in a series which is being planned to celebrate and honour the club's heroes. 

Ferguson was the man in charge when the Dons lifted the Cup Winners Cup in 1983 with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Gothenburg. 

Later on that year in 1983, they won the UEFA Super Cup under his helm beating Hamburg over two legs. 

Sculptor Andy Edwards will produce the statue based on a photograph taken of Sir Alex at Easter Road in 1980 when he celebrated the Dons winning the Scottish Premier Division. 

It was the first time in 15 years it had been won by a club other than Celtic and Rangers. 

Sir Alex said: “I am thrilled and honoured by this recognition from Aberdeen Football Club, where I spent a fantastic and memorable part of my managerial career.

“I am particularly pleased with the image the Club has chosen to base the statue on and with the choice of sculptor whose recent work is incredibly lifelike. I can’t wait to see it!”

Aberdeen won the league title again in the 83-84 and 85-86 seasons and won the Scottish Cup four seasons out of five between 1981-86. 

AFC chairman, Dave Cormack, said: “Sir Alex’s contribution to the club was immense and it’s fitting that we honour him in this way.

“His arrival at Pittodrie heralded the start of the most successful period in the Club’s history and put Aberdeen firmly on the football map of Europe.

“The year after next marks the 40^th anniversary of our European Cup Winners Cup triumph in Gothenburg, along with winning the European Super Cup, so while this honour is long overdue, it comes at a fitting time.

“We began exploring the idea of a series of statues to recognise those legends who have made a lasting impact on the Club, over 18 months ago, but the process stalled due to the pandemic.

“It’s now very much back on our agenda and, when it came to deciding the subject of the first one, there was of course only one option, Sir Alex Ferguson.”

The Club and AFC Heritage Trust will work on future statues with the first being due to be unveiled later this yea.

All statues will be installed in a way so they can be relocated to AFC's new stadium.