Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says Sir Alex Ferguson is seen more as a club owner than coach at Manchester United.

The former United centre-half told El Pais: "I used to see Alex Ferguson like a father figure. I do not consider him to be a coach. He was like the club's owner.

"As he did not coach us, I used to see (Carlos) Queiroz as the coach more than him. Ferguson used to control everything, even your personal life.

"He sees everything! We used to say that private detectives were following players, but it was never proved. Besides, we did not give him reasons to do so."