Sir Alex Ferguson Lost £8,000 This Weekend—But He Was “Delighted”

I’m going to go out on a huge limb here and offer a strong opinion—I would not be delighted to lose £8,000. By today’s exchange rate, that’s the equivalent of $11,390.40, and I’d be pretty annoyed to lose the 40 cents. The $11,390? TOTAL BUMMER.

For legendary (retired) Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, however, losing that total this weekend was apparently a delight. Why? Because he placed a wager (legally, since we’re talking about the UK) on Jordan Spieth to win the Masters golf tournament, and even though Spieth didn’t win, Sheffield native and English countryman Danny Willett did. Turns out, national pride carried the day for Ferguson, as you can see from this exchange, post at The Mirror:

Sir Alex Ferguson lost £8,000 because of Danny Willett. #TheMasters#JordanSpieth ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/2gbsu0xASh

— CLICKON Golf (@CLICKONGolf) April 11, 2016

The conversation, for those without video:

During his celebrations after the event, Willett, who is a Liverpool fan, was greeted by legendary United boss Ferguson.

As the pair shook hands, Ferguson was quick to admit: “I had £8,000 on Spieth!”

Willett jokingly apologised but the 74-year-old then said: “I’m so delighted. I’m so delighted honestly. Happy to throw it away.”

Yorkshireman Willett replied: “You need to know where to put your money!”

Nice comeback! Ferguson is an enormous golf fan who famously gave the European team a pep talk at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles before they gave the Americans the latest of what has been a series of Ryder Cup whoopings.