Then Sir Alex Ferguson opened a door for him.
“As if things couldn’t get any better on my first day, I’m going in and Sir Alex sees me and he opens the door for me,” Rathbone told Football Presse.
Ferguson was speaking to the fitness coach.
“He goes, ‘Mick, I’m just telling Strutton about your book — how you don’t like fitness coaches.’”
Rathbone was stunned.
“I’m thinking, ‘God, Alex Ferguson has read my book.’ He knew I was coming, he’s gone to the trouble of going through my book. That was a powerful moment.”
Before arriving at United, Rathbone admits he had assumptions.
“I thought, ‘Right, he’s going to be some miserable Scottish sod.’”
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“He was friendly, charming, super knowledgeable. Just a lovely guy. He knew everybody’s name. He could hold court or he could sit and listen. He didn’t want to be the centre of attention. He was absolutely incredible.”
For Rathbone, that moment of respect defined his Manchester United experience.