When Ferguson sends his team into battle against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, it will be 8,811 days since he succeeded Ron Atkinson, one more than Busby managed during his two stints in charge.
Yet it appears to Ferguson that Busby had been around for far longer, mainly due to the rebuilding work that had to be done, both immediately after World War II and the Munich tragedy.
"It has been frozen into the memory bank," Ferguson told Key 103. "I think of Sir Matt Busby as being here forever. He started at the end of the war and went right through to winning the European Cup in 1968. The timespan seems to be much longer than mine.
"Of course, there are emotional issues. He had to rebuild the team after Munich. There was so much emotion. I did not have that. That is the reason he seemed to have been here forever."
However, Ferguson found his predecessor an invaluable source of advice, the basis of which he has tried to keep going.
"The most important piece of advice he gave me was not to read the press," he said. "It was great advice and I have not read it since.
"The issue of ex-players at the club was something I have been addressing for quite a long time. I wanted to keep all our great players around the club in some capacity.
"I had Sir Bobby Charlton on the board and Sir Matt was here as well. People like that are able to understand the dimensions of Manchester United. That is necessary to understand the role of manager. It was very helpful to me."
Charlton, meanwhile, said Busby helped ensure Ferguson never came under serious threat of the sack as United boss.
"Sometimes you would have a little chat about things but Matt was in no doubt either," Charlton said. "He didn't have a worry at all. He knew we had the right man."
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