Gary Neville reveals the only player Sir Alex Ferguson broke his self-imposed transfer rules for at Manchester United

Gary Neville has revealed the only time Sir Alex Ferguson deviated from his self-imposed transfer policy at Manchester United.

Ferguson built multiple iconic squads during his more than quarter of a century at the club, and in 2001 had enjoyed a strong start to the season that saw his team top the Premier League.

In January of that year, United travelled to Craven Cottage for an FA Cup tie against Jean Tigana's Fulham who were dominating the second tier en route to Premier League promotion.

Though United would emerge victorious that day thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it was Fulham's striker that left a lasting impression on Ferguson.

Louis Saha and Luis Boa Morte wreaked havoc on the United defence that day, and Ferguson broke from tradition by consulting his defenders on whether the Frenchman would be a good fit for his squad.

'Sir Alex never asked us which players we should sign or never asked us information about players he was going to sign,' Neville told Sky Sports.

'But after we played Fulham one time in the FA Cup, he actually asked us as defenders, would we sign Louis Saha? We all said "yes" straight away.'

Saha again impressed as Fulham defeated United in 2003, and the following January Ferguson would act on his defence's advice, signing the striker for £12.4million.

'I remember the season where he was playing up front with Wazza [Wayne Rooney] in 2006 and it was unbelievable; they were fantastic together.' Neville continued.

'Louis was a brilliant, brilliant player. He gave me absolute nightmares when I used to play against him when he played for Fulham - him and Luis Boa Morte.'

Saha went on to make 124 appearances in all competitions and score 42 goals across five seasons at United before joining for Everton in 2008 after injuries limited his involvement.

While Saha may have been the only time Ferguson directly approached his players for reassurance before signing, the squad famously influenced his transfer business on other occasions.

After an 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo produced a stunning performance against United in a pre-season friendly, several players implored Sir Alex to sign the young winger from Sporting Lisbon after the game.

Ferguson took the advice on board, and promptly agreed a deal with the Portuguese club to sign the winger for £12.24m.