He told The Sun: 'I brought a lot of stuff back. In those days nobody checked. You got on the plane and there'd be boxes of this, boxes of that, your bag would be full of stuff. Nobody bothered.'

But it wasn't all plain sailing for Fergie, who experienced a different side to football when he travelled as a Dumfermline player in the 1960s. 

Far from the 1st class travels today's players are used to, the trip was an arduous experience.

Recalling one visit to Bilbao in Spain, he said: 'We had to get a bus from a town on the border between France and Spain, seven hours along the Spanish coast, and the bus had wooden seats.

'There was no radio to keep us entertained. There was nothing, just wooden seats. We had to travel like that for seven hours and then play the next day.'

Sir Alex added: 'The romance of Europe looks good when you're sitting at home, but if you were actually out there doing it as a player in those days, it wasn't as good.

'European football is so different now. When I was a player you used to go out on a Sunday and come back on a Thursday. It was a long week away.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2235146/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-reveals-smuggling-history.html#ixzz2CfQWwzAo
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on FacebookSir Alex Ferguson meenutas The Suniga rääkides oma mängijapäevi ning Euroopas reisimist.

Fergusoni sõnul sai tema ajal välismaal käies alati kohvrid odavat kraami täis panna ja neid kodumaale smuugeldada.

"Ma tõin endaga kaasa väga palju asju. Siis ei kontrollinud keegi midagi. Läksid lennukile oma kastidega selle ja tollega. Su kott oli igast kraami täis. Kedagi ei huvitanud," avaldas ta.

Samas ei olnud Fergusoni arvates Euroopas mängimine kõige meeldivam, meenutades reisi Hispaania linna Bilbaosse.

Ta ütles: "Me pidime Prantsusmaa-Hispaania piiril bussi peale istuma ning sõitma seitse tundi mööda Hispaania rannikut. Bussil olid puust istmed. Ei olnud ka raadiot, mis meie meelt lahutaks. Polnud mitte midagi! Ainult puust istmed. Pidime niimoodi seitse tundi reisima ja järgmisel päeval mängima."

"Euroopa jalgpalli romantika oli kodus istudes hea, aga kui sa seda mängijana läbi elama pidid, polnud see sugugi hea. Euroopa jalgpall on praegu väga erinev. Kui mina olin mängija, lahkusid sa pühapäeval ja jõudsid tagasi neljapäeval. See oli pikk nädal kodust eemal," lausus šotlane.