I hated Sir Alex Ferguson so I'd go to his house and rip all the flowers from his garden

Ex-Manchester United star Alan Brazil has confessed to deliberately vandalising Sir Alex Ferguson's garden out of spite when he was a youngster.

The now-talkSPORT pundit is not the first person to admit to having an intense hatred for the legendary manager. But while Ferguson, 82, made the bulk of his enemies when he was managing at Old Trafford, Brazil's hatred derives from his fellow Scot's playing days.

When Brazil was a teenager, the fervent Celtic supporter lived a short distance from Ferguson, who was playing for fiercest rivals Rangers, reports the Mirror. Detailing his mischievous, teenage antics to the Formula For Success podcast, Brazil said: "A little story about Fergie. I was born in the same hospital as Fergie, over in Govan, near what I call Castle Greyskulls," reports the Mirror.

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Brazil's candid tale illustrates the deep-seated rivalry that exists between Celtic and Rangers fans, which clearly influenced even his childhood actions. "On the way back, we'd always pass Fergie's house - and I would pick his flowers, because he was the Rangers No.9. And that's shocking, that is. Those were bad days."

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Despite being signed by Celtic, Brazil never made a senior appearance for the club. However, he went on to have a successful career in English football. He moved to Ipswich in 1978 and was subsequently loaned to Detroit Express to compete in what was then known as the North American Soccer League.

After five years at Portman Road, Tottenham Hotspur bought Brazil. He joined Manchester United a year later, in 1984, and became a household name in the Red Devils' frontline.

He was close to an awkward reunion with his Rangers nemesis, but Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson, sold Brazil to Coventry City in a deal which also saw Terry Gibson move to Old Trafford in January 1986.

Despite being a key figure for United, Brazil constantly found himself vying for a position in the starting line-up against the likes of Frank Stapleton, Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside. He went on to be the player to make way and depart the club.

Just over 11 months later, Ferguson took up residence in the Old Trafford dugout as Atkinson's replacement after leaving Aberdeen.