Manchester United striker Kiko Macheda admits Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement didn't come as a surprise.

The Italian is currently playing on-loan at Stuttgart.

Macheda told Calciomercato.it: "His retirement was in the air, but I did not expect it to arrive today. I was certain, however, he would leave football a winner, and so it was.

"His farewell is very bad news for the world of football. He left for reasons of age and so I find his decision the right one."