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Former Manchester United and England star Brian Greenhoff has died at the age of 60.

Greenhoff, who was born in Barnsley, joined United in 1968 and played in the same team as his brother, Jimmy, who joined the club in 1976.

The central defender won 18 caps for his country and made 271 appearances at Old Trafford, scoring 17 times and winning an FA Cup medal in 1977.

He joined Leeds United in 1979 following his stint at Old Trafford and later went on to play for and coach Rochdale.

A statement released to the Manchester Evening News by Greenhoff's family said: "We regret to inform of Brian's passing this morning, Wednesday 22nd May at the age of 60 years old.

"Brian was a proud and much loved brother, husband of Maureen, father of Paul, Brian and Peter, grandfather to Jack, James and Harry and will be sorely missed by his family, who he made very proud in his distinguished life and career."

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Hodder & Stoughton are delighted to announce the acquisition of Sir Alex Ferguson's memoirs, which will be published in October 2013.

Two weeks ago Sir Alex announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United after 27 years in the role. He has gone out in a blaze of glory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in the history of British football.

Over the last quarter of a century there have been seismic changes at Manchester United. The only constant element has been the quality of the manager’s league-winning squad and United’s run of success, which included winning the Champions League for a second time in 2008. Sir Alex bought players wisely (eg he paid just £500,000 for Peter Schmeichel) but from his first days he not only developed an academy to bring on new young players like Giggs, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, and the Neville brothers, but he created a purposeful, but welcoming, and much envied culture at the club which has lasted the test of time. Players like Van Persie joined Manchester United even though they had been offered a higher salary elsewhere.

Sir Alex saw Manchester United change from a conventional football club to what is now a major business enterprise, and he never failed to move with the times. It was directly due to his vision, energy and ability that he was able to build teams both on and off the pitch. He was a man-manager of phenomenal skill, and increasingly he had to deal with global stars. His relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance, was excellent and David Beckham has described Sir Alex as a father figure.

Sir Alex is recognised as having a ruthless streak allied to his drive and passion to win. It is likely that he could have transferred his leadership qualities with equal success to business. He will address this question in his book. He also has a mischievous and very evident sense of humour, and is a master of mind games.

Sir Alex is widely read, has a curiosity for life, and a passion for horse-racing. He also has a large and loving family. Their support and his many outside interests have stood the manager in good stead in times of adversity. In his last home match, Manchester United beat Swansea City 2-1, not quite, but almost, in ‘Fergie time’, but it seems in keeping with his emphasis on planning that his final match as manager away to West Brom was his 1500th in charge.

Over the past four years, Sir Alex has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his quite extraordinary career and in his new book he will reveal his amazing story as it unfolded, from his very early days in the tough shipyard areas of Govan. Sir Alex’s life story promises to celebrate, to reveal, to entertain and inspire.

This autobiography was acquired by Hodder & Stoughton editor Roddy Bloomfield who has worked with Sir Alex on his previous books.

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He hits his head with his palm. "Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world and he now plays 20 minutes at Manchester United – on the left wing! My heart breaks. Really, I have tears in my eyes. Central midfield is Shinji's best role. He's an offensive midfielder with one of the best noses for goal I ever saw. But for most Japanese people it means more to play for Man United than Dortmund. We cried for 20 minutes, in each others' arms, when he left. One year before that Nuri Sahin went because Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world. [Sahin is back at Dortmund after just four appearances for Madrid and an unhappy loan spell at Liverpool]. If players are patient enough we can develop the team into one of the biggest in the world."

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Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced that Manchester United can still continue winning trophies and titles in his absence.

The manager steps down after more than 26 years in charge following Sunday's final Barclays Premier League match of the season at West Brom with David Moyes moving from Everton to take over the reins.

There is every likelihood that many outside of Old Trafford will be hoping the Reds suffer a fall from grace similar to the one that followed Sir Matt Busby's initial retirement in 1969.

However, when asked if cracks will start to appear in the empire, Sir Alex replied: "No. I think if you go back to Busby's day, Sir Matt was probably in the same situation as I find myself today. But he created Manchester United.

"That was the origins of what we are today. He had the vision to take the club into Europe and rebuilt a team in 10 years based mainly around young players to win the European Cup.

"I'm in the same situation as him - the past is the past and will always be there. It’s a good record and the future now lies with a new manager who will get all the support from us and hopefully we’ll continue to be successful. It’s not the end of Manchester United as far as winning titles is concerned. The club will win titles and win trophies."

Sir Alex, of course, is being retained on the board and will also become an ambassador of the club with everybody associated with United hoping he is still a regular visitor to Old Trafford and Carrington.

"The ambassadorial role is 20 days a year so it’s fine," he revealed. "No problem.

"It will be defined by the club. There are a lot of sponsors and a lot of important people in the club. That will be my role.

"Whatever they want me to do in those 20 days will be fine.

"I’ll just do what I’m going to do in the next stage of my life. If I’d waited another year, two years or three years, I’ve still got to deal with what I’m going to do – I’ll remain active. I have to do something and I’ll be doing plenty of things."

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Rio Ferdinand is set to sign a one-year contract extension with Manchester United by Monday.
Talks between Ferdinand's representatives and United began on Friday and the 12-month deal is expected to be confirmed within the next 48 hours.
Ferdinand, 34, is out of contract at the end of this season but has expressed his desire to stay on and play under Sir Alex Ferguson's successor, David Moyes.
Although Ferdinand is likely to have to take a pay cut on his £120,000-a-week salary, the defender is keen to give United one more season.
Ferdinand retired from international football earlier this week and said he had done so because he "owed it to Manchester United" after so many years.
The former England international has had several offers to play abroad, in Europe, America and the Middle East, but wants to continue his career at Old Trafford.

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Chris Smalling and Nick Powell have both undergone operations but are expected to return for pre-season training with Manchester United.

Reds defender Smalling was on crutches during the lifting of the Barclays Premier League trophy after the win against Swansea while Powell has been missing from action at both senior and Under-21 level, despite Warren Joyce's side progressing to Monday's league final against Tottenham at Old Trafford.

"They are not long-term injuries," Sir Alex informed MUTV. "They will be ready for pre-season and that's the important thing. It's why we do these things.

"Chris had problems with his foot and had an operation on it. It'll be resolved and he'll be back for pre-season.

"Young Nick had a small operation to relieve a problem he had and he'll also be available for pre-season training. I knew I was not going to use them for the last part of the season, having won the league, so I think it was important to get the operations done."

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Rio Ferdinand has confirmed that he will retire from England duty to concentrate on his club career and allow younger players to come through the ranks at international level.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the 34-year-old Manchester United defender said: "After a great deal of thought, I have decided the time is right for me to retire from international football.

"At the age of 34, I feel it is right for me to stand aside and let the younger players come through, which allows me to concentrate on my club career. The team looks in great shape and there is an influx of young, talented players coming through the ranks which bodes well for the future."

Ferdinand became England's youngest ever defender when he made his debut against Cameroon at Wembley in 1997, a week after his 19th birthday. And the London-born centre-back went on to represent his country at three World Cups and earned 81 England caps.

"I regard it as a great honour and a privilege to have represented my country at every level from under-17s upwards," Rio added. "I have always been very proud to play for England.

"I would like to wish Roy and the team all the best for future tournaments. A big thank you to all the fans, managers, coaching staff and players that I have worked alongside - the journey has been incredible."

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