On the day of the UEFA Champions League final, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he got a communication from Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United.
The Citizens won their first European Cup on Saturday night by defeating Inter 1-0 in the final, becoming the second team in English football history to win the triple crown.
The only other side to accomplish this feat was Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United, who defeated Bayern Munich in the spectacular Champions League final in 1999 after winning the Premier League and FA Cup.
In last week's FA Cup final at Wembley, Man Utd had the chance to end their noisy neighbors' treble dreams, but they lost 2-1. Ilkay Gundogan scored the game's first goal, the fastest in FA Cup final history, but Bruno Fernandes' penalty made it even. Nevertheless, the German midfielder scored again in the second half to seal the victory.
Man City struggled against Inter in Istanbul, and it took them till the 68th minute to break the scoreless tie. They were able to survive a late barrage of Nerazzurri opportunities thanks to Rodri's ferocious strike from just inside the 18-yard box that beat Andre Onana at his near post.
Guardiola acknowledged in a post-game press conference that he had spoken with Ferguson before the Ataturk Olympic Stadium game.
"It's a privilege for me to stand next to Sir Alex Ferguson. He left me a message this morning. That moved me. It was pleasant, remarked Guardiola.
In his only two encounters with Guardiola, Ferguson lost both times, with the Catalan's Barcelona team defeating Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
Guardiola is currently Man City's most successful manager with 12 big victories under his belt, in addition to two more Community Shields.
Prior to the Champions League championship game, Pep Guardiola reads a greeting from Sir Alex Fergus
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