Graeme Souness was nearly brought to tears after revealing he’d received a huge donation from Sir Alex Ferguson for swimming the English Channel.
The 70-year-old former Sky Sports pundit completed the epic feat in 12 hours and 17 minutes on Sunday, raising more than £1million for Debra UK – a charity that supports individuals and families affected by epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare skin condition that causes painful blistering.
Speaking about the swim on talkSPORT, Souness mentioned that a number of famous figures had made generous donations to the cause, including legendary Manchester United manager Ferguson, who stumped up a five-digit sum.
“I hope I don’t embarrass him by saying this, but Alex Ferguson donated £20,000 after he quizzed me for half an hour on it,” Souness revealed. “We know he’s a tough old man but he’s got a heart of gold in there, that man. You have to search for it, but it’s there!”
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Tearing up, he said: “He’s [made the donation] this morning, so I’m chuffed.”
Souness’ calendar has been freed up significantly since his departure from Sky Sports last month, and the ex-Liverpool player has his sights set on completing more challenges in order to keep raising money for charity.
“The North Pole, something around the Atlantic, something like that. I’m in this now, I’m in this for the long-haul.”
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(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
Souness was inspired to take attempt the mammoth swim after meeting Isla Grist, a 14-year-old girl living with EB. The ex-Prem boss completed the gruelling challenge alongside five others, including Isla’s dad Andy.
“We can’t raise enough,” he continued. “We need to find a way to make life easier for these kids … we’re talking about children, who have got an incurable disease. Now that sounds bad enough, but then you factor the really bad bit, that they have no respite from this.
“They’re constantly itching, they’re constantly in pain. We can’t help them. It’s 2023, how can we not find something to help these kids?”
Souness aimed to raise £1.1m for Debra UK, because he wore the No. 11 shirt for the majority of his legendary career, which saw him play for the likes of Liverpool, Rangers and Sampdoria. He also earned 54 caps for Scotland.
If you’d like to donate to Debra UK, click here.