Michael Owen shocked by Alex Ferguson news after long conversation shortly before he was taken to hospital

Michael Owen has told talkSPORT that Alex Ferguson was ‘sharp as a tack’ and sounded brilliant a day before he was taken to hospital.

The legendary Manchester United manager fell ill just before his old side beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

talkSPORT

The 84-year-old was at his old stomping ground ahead of kick-off before he reported feeling unwell and was taken to hospital.

Owen – who played for Man United under Ferguson for three seasons from 2009 to 2012 – remains close to his former boss since retiring.

The pair share a love of horse racing, with the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner once joking that the Scot only signed him to share tips.

And Owen joked that he’s expecting a message on his phone from Ferguson because of their runners at Chester this week.

The ex-England striker was appearing live on talkSPORT Breakfast alongside Shebahn Aherne and Gabby Agbonlahor from his Manor House Stables.

Michael Owen reveals conversation with Alex Ferguson

He revealed to the duo that news of Ferguson’s funny turn came as a major shock, having had a conversation with him the day before.

“I spoke to him, I was on the phone to him for forty minutes that morning,” Owen revealed on talkSPORT Breakfast.

“We’re talking about football. We’re talking about horses. As I say, he’s got horses here [at his Manor House Stables].

“Most Saturday mornings, he gives me a call, and we go through all the horses for the day, and we share what we know and things like that.

Getty

“We might have actually, we might have his horse running on Friday at Chester,” Owen continued.

“So yeah, I speak to him regularly, and he sounded absolutely brilliant, sharp as a tack as normal.

“We were talking a lot about Scottish football and what was happening up there. So it was such a shock to hear, obviously, that the next day he was taken unwell, but hopefully it’s not too serious.”

talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham has since revealed that Ferguson has been taken home from the hospital to recover and is doing well.

When asked if he’s had the chance to speak to the Glaswegian since last weekend’s catch-up, Owen joked it should be any time now.

He replied: “I haven’t since, but I would expect a message on my phone any time now because he’ll see that we’ve got four or five runners today at Chester and he’ll be wondering what’s going on. Which horse should he be looking at?”

Getty

Getty

When asked about the mutual stress he and Ferguson share in owning horses compared to their time in football, Owen added: “The problem is, when you’re a footballer, you’re in control, at least you can do something about it.

“So you’re a little bit nervous, but you’re about to go into battle, and you can control something.

“When it’s your horse, you’re putting all your trust into the trainer, all your trust into the jockey, and when you say good luck, and they go down to post, you just don’t know, you’re just hoping and praying, and that’s the emptiness.

“You’ve got no control over it, that’s why you get nervous.”