Family ties make special agent

Profile of Jason Ferguson: Alex Ferguson's position as manager of Manchester United has been hugely beneficial to the career of his son Jason, who is a successful sports agent, writes Daniel Taylor

In many ways, Jason Ferguson has some of his father's most impressive qualities - and some of his lesser ones, too.

Aggressively ambitious and apparently unconcerned by accusations of nepotism, he and Alex Ferguson share not just a burning desire to succeed but also a volcanic temper, along with Woody Allen's philosophy on personal wealth: "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

Four years ago Jason was a producer of Sky's live Premiership programmes, well regarded by his colleagues and so detached when covering United's matches there were times when it was easy to forget his family loyalties. Seeing his father's cheeks redden during one match, he once shouted: "Quick. Get the camera on Fergie, he's furious."

The paradox in his move into the sports agency business - a world that his father had said he despised - was that United's manager was, as always, instrumental in what was going on. Ever the shop steward, Ferguson had supported his son's complaint that he was not paid well enough and went as far as asking L'Attitude, a Manchester-based agency, to head-hunt him.

Hardly able to risk antagonising their best contacts at Old Trafford, not least the most powerful man at the club, the company's partners, Andy Dodd and Kieran Toal, had little choice but to agree.

Now 31, Jason lives like one of the millionaire footballers under his father's charge. He owns a £600,000 house in Cheshire and drives the £30,000 Jeep Cherokee favoured by the likes of David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand. It is certainly a different world from his early days on a teacher-training course in Aberdeen.

Money brings with it resentment. In Michael Crick's biography The Boss,

The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson, several of Jason's former colleagues and business associates take turns in detailing how, in the secretive world of agents, he could be "difficult", "arrogant" and "tough".

After Jason became a director of Elite, there were stories about Ferguson bullying younger players to be represented by his son.

Jason, in turn, has been known to resort to irrational fits of temper when things are not going his way and has never been slow to use his father's name and standing in his own business dealings.

Despite his background in television, it is a curiosity that he now refuses to speak to the media, especially when it might help ease the torrent of criticism.

But there is more to him than the popular image of an avaricious chancer cashing in on the back of someone else. He is clearly an intelligent man, a skilled negotiator and, in some cases, a man who is willing to stand up for what he believes in.

Early in his career he gave up his £12,000 annual salary as a trainee researcher for Granada Television's sports department to travel to Romania on a charity mission to help orphans, earning £150 a week. Just as his father's kinder acts are often overlooked, this is a story that belies the image of the hard-nosed agent.

Guardian Service