Day 1 - Champions Festival - UEFA Champions League Final 2025
Rio Ferdinand has told Viktor Gyokeres to ’cause a nightmare’ for Sporting president Frederico Varandas (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand says Viktor Gyokeres should be ‘causing a nightmare’ at Sporting if he wishes to secure a move to the Premier League this summer.
Gyokeres, 27, has established himself as one of the most sought-after attacking players in European football on the back of two outstanding seasons with Sporting, in which he scored 97 goals in 102 appearances.
The Portuguese champions have grown increasingly resigned to losing their prized possession amid strong interest from the Premier League, with Arsenal currently leading Manchester United in the race for the prolific forward.
However, Gyokeres’ path to English football is currently being blocked by Sporting president Frederico Varandas, who is disputing claims made by the Swede’s camp.
A ‘furious’ Gyokeres had been under the impression he could leave for a fee of £59million, but Varandas is denying the existence of a supposed gentleman’s agreement with the striker.
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‘I’ll tell you one thing, I would be in his [Varandas’] office and he wouldn’t be able to leave me,’ ex-United and England defender Ferdinand told talkSPORT when asked about the latest rumours.
‘I’d be in his bed, I’d be in his front room, his kitchen, he wouldn’t be able to get me out of his sight.
SL Benfica v Sporting CP - Portuguese Cup 2024/2025 - Final
Arsenal are in pole position to sign Sporting sensation Gyokeres (Picture: Getty)
AVS v Sporting Clube de Portugal - Liga Portugal Betclic
Varandas insists there is no agreement that Gyokeres can leave for £59m (Picture: Getty)
‘I’d be causing him a nightmare to get out if we’d had an agreement.
‘I did that when I was at Leeds. I heard that Manchester United were interested in me and I knew had to let me go.
‘I went to Peter Ridsdale and said, “Listen, I know you need to sell me, let’s not haggle over a couple of million here and there and let’s get a deal done”, and I was there for hours waiting and ended up getting it done.’
SL Benfica v Sporting CP - Portuguese Cup 2024/2025 - Final
Gyokeres’ goalscoring heroics helped Sporting win a domestic double last term (Picture: Getty)
While Ferdinand has been impressed by Gyokeres’ extraordinary numbers in Portuguese football, he believes the jury is still out on the Sweden international being able to mix it with the best.
According to Ferdinand, United ideally should be scouring the market for a proven No.9 with ‘experience’.
‘Is he the right guy? Listen, he has some really good attributes. I’ve not seen enough of him to be totally convinced,’ the six-time Premier League winner added.
‘The games I have seen him in, in the Champions League against players that match him up physically, I’d love to see a bit more.
Rio Ferdinand X
Ferdinand demanded then Leeds chairman Ridsdale let him leave in 2002 (Picture: Getty)
‘But there’s no denying that he knows where the goal is. He’s playing in Portugal where he’s been banging in and setting up goals left, right and centre the last couple of years.
‘I just think for Manchester United, at this moment in time, I would go for experience more than anything.’
Gyokeres will ‘speak when the time is right’ (Picture: Instagram/@vitkorgyokeres)
Gyokeres reassured fans he would ‘speak when the time is right’ as he took to Instagram amid incessant speculation over his future on Friday.
‘There’s a lot of talk at the moment, most of it false,’ Gyokeres wrote.
‘I will speak when the time is right.’
Gyokeres’ current contract in Lisbon runs through to June 2028.
‘He is very happy here,’ Sporting manager Rui Borges said when asked for an update on Gyokeres’ future after the club successfully defended their Primeira Liga title.
‘He is very connected to the game, he wants to score and he is obsessed with it.
‘He is the best striker in Europe, as the numbers show.
‘He will be attractive, but I believe that if he doesn’t leave Sporting, he will remain very committed to the club. He feels very happy here.’
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