Sky Sports' iconic touchline reporter Geoff Shreeves has opened up on the time he nearly blinded legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson - just seconds before a live interview.
Shreeves has become one of the most recognisable interviewers in the Premier League during his stint with Sky and has been involved in some of the most iconic post-match moments in top-flight history.
The 58-year-old has quizzed some of the biggest characters the Premier League has even seen in his role at Sky - and they don't come much bigger than Ferguson, who enjoyed almost unprecedented success with United during his tenure.
Shreeves has already revealed that he has been on the receiving end of Fergie's wrath on occasions down the years - but it was Shreeves who came close to blinding the fiery United chief courtesy of a stray champagne cork.
In an extract from his new book ' Cheers, Geoff! Tales from the Touchline' , shared in The Sun, Shreeves recalled: "I’m wrestling with this magnum of bubbly, with 'Champions' emblazoned on it.
"Three seconds before we go live, the cork flies out like an Exocet missile straight at Fergie, missing his right eye by millimetres. The first words our studio and audience hear is, 'Christ, Geoff, you could have taken my eye out!'"
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Although Ferguson came close to getting physical with Shreeves, it was actually the Scot's biggest rival, Arsene Wenger, who told Shreeves that he wanted to hit him in the wake of Arsenal's nightmare 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford back in 2011.
“I first interviewed Arsene Wenger when he joined Arsenal in 1996. We’d speak 30 times a season, over the 21 years he was in charge,“ Shreeves said in another extract.
"I know what makes him tick, he knows how I work but there are still moments when the relationship spills over into antagonism.
“After Arsenal had been beaten 8-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2011, there was no room for soft-soap questions — Wenger had to face an inquisition. I asked if he would resign and if he thought the board would back him. Brutal questions.
“I could see the anger building in his eyes and afterwards Arsenal’s head of media, Mark Gonnella said: ‘The boss has just told me he wanted to hit you during that interview, he was so angry.’
“Years later, Arsene told me: ‘Geoff, I wanted to hit you that day, it’s true. But you were not the only one — there were many others.’”
