Man Utd legend's three strikes that made him never speak to team-mate again - The Mirror

This Manchester United treble hero has opened up about his bitter feud with a team-mate that began with an England snub and exploded in the Old Trafford dressing room

Andy Cole has opened up about his feud with former Manchester United team-mate Teddy Sheringham. Despite their shared success at Old Trafford, the two strikers were known for their frosty relationship.

Cole, who moved to Manchester from Newcastle after a record-breaking season, was instrumental in United's 1999 treble-winning campaign and helped secure five Premier League titles.

However, his relationship with Sheringham was marked by tension and animosity. Now, the 54-year-old has revisited the roots of their dispute, offering fresh insight into this well-documented rivalry, including the three incidents that led to their silence.

"It started when I was playing for England," Cole said on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet. "I was going to make my England debut.

"He [Sheringham] was he was coming off and he just snubbed me on the line. So straight away, my head just falls off. I remember growing up as a kid watching England, whoever made their debut, anyone who came off for them would always make a big beeline for that person coming on.

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"Debuts are supposed to mean a hell of a lot to whoever it is, whatever respective country you're going to play for. To know that I didn't get someone respecting me on my debut, it was just playing with my head straight away."

Sheringham's arrival at Old Trafford in 1997 saw the pair's relationship deteriorate further. Cole recalled: "When he joined Man United, I remember sitting there and saying to myself, 'Oh my gosh, problems, problems.'

"So I've walked in on the first day and I've gone to the dressing room and the boys are absolutely hammering me. Calling us best mates and everything like that. Then pre-season, it was in Milan or somewhere like that and he said something to me. I'm like, 'Do you know how long I've been at Man United now? I mean, I think I know how to play.'

"That kind of set the time bomb off. Then we played Bolton and it ended 1-1. He said the Bolton goal was my fault. I lost it. Proper lost it. I'm usually the last person off the pitch. I don't rush down the tunnel or anything like that. But I remember then I was the first one down the tunnel.

"I ran to the dressing room and I'm waiting for him to come in. Then it goes off in the dressing room and then the manager pulls me in. He said, 'This can't go on. I know you two don't get on, but I can't condone that in the dressing room.'

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"I heard that and so that was it for his duration at Manchester United and my duration at Manchester United. I never had another conversation with Sheringham."

Yet Sheringham maintains the duo have since buried the hatchet. A chance encounter at a nightclub in 2019 saw Cole extend an olive branch to Sheringham, with the two now on cordial terms.

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