‘Dear Daragh,
‘Firstly, I would like to thank you for writing to me. I know you did not send me good luck or anything like that but it is always good to hear from a young football fan no matter what so I appreciate you getting in touch.
‘Unfortunately, on this occasion I cannot grant your request, not through choice anyway.
‘As much as you want Liverpool to lose it is my job to do everything that I can to help Liverpool to win as there are millions of people around the world who want that to happen, so I really do not want to let them down.
‘Luckily for you, we have lost games in the past and we will lose games in the future because that is football.
‘The problem is when you are 10 years old you think that things will always be as they are now but if there is one thing I can tell you as 52 years old it is that this most definitely isn’t the case.
‘Having read your letter, though, I think I can safely say that one thing that will not change is your passion for football and for your club. Manchester United are lucky to have you.
‘I hope that if we are lucky enough to win more games and maybe even lift some more trophies you will not be too disappointed because although our clubs are great rivals we also share a great respect for one another.
‘This, to me, is what football is all about.
‘Take care and good luck, Jurgen.’
