Sir Alex shares advice with United stars

United face Spanish side Villarreal in the Europa League final at 20:00 BST and will look to round off the season with a first trophy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sir Alex Ferguson is part of the official trip and sat down for lunch with some of the players to offer his words of considerable wisdom.

With the final preparations all done and kick-off just hours away, the Serbian midfielder used his official Instagram account to issue one final message to the United fans, among his 1.8 million followers on the platform, ahead of tonight’s match.

The post included a picture of himself and team-mates Juan Mata, Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani sitting alongside Sir Alex.

As well as thanking Sir Alex for his time, Matic’s accompanying caption expressed the Reds’ determination to come out on top in Poland this evening.

“We are ready to give everything tonight!

“Thanks to Sir Alex for his advice and support!”

Should we triumph in Poland, it will also be a first piece of silverware in red for Matic since he joined the club in July 2017, two months after we last won the competition.

Solskjaer explained during Tuesday's press conference: “Just to have him around when we eat in the restaurant, I'm sure the players if they wonder about something, they can ask him. He's always about for a chat because this is the club of his heart. I hope he is going to enjoy it tomorrow night because I have to say I owe most of my career to him.”

The Scot will be watching on intently when United strive for success against a club he drew with in all four meetings, with no goals in any of the Champions League meetings.