Alex Ferguson to retire at season's end

MANCHESTER, England -- Alex Ferguson is retiring at the end of the season, bringing a close to a trophy-filled career of more than 26 years at Manchester United that established him as the most successful coach in British football history.

"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly," the 71-year-old Scotsman said in a statement Wednesday. "It is the right time."

The club, which is owned by the American Glazer family and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, did not immediately announce a successor.

The early bookmakers' favorites for the job are David Moyes, whose contract at Everton expires at the end of the season, and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea boss who craves a return to England.
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