Sir Alex Ferguson made the bold call to snub one of his brilliant Manchester United legends for the club captaincy during his remarkable reign at Old Trafford.
The 83-year-old Scotsman bowed out of the Red Devils as manager after leading Manchester United to their Premier League title in the 2012-13 campaign.
Sir Alex Ferguson led the Premier League club to all 13 of their league trophies, with the former United manager enjoying an incredible 26-year spell at Old Trafford.
The Scot is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time and Ferguson had a long-lasting impact on English football thanks to United’s dominance.
Ferguson’s legendary achievement at United included the Red Devils becoming the first English club in history to complete a continental treble in football.
The iconic ex-Aberdeen manager pulled off United’s treble-winning feat in the famed 1998-99 season, with Ferguson receiving a knighthood for his work in football.
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Rio Ferdinand’s reaction when he was overlooked for the Man Utd captaincy under Sir Alex Ferguson
Rio Ferdinand was a linchpin defensive figure for Sir Alex Ferguson after the former Manchester United manager signed him from Leeds United in 2002.
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The 46-year-old former TNT Sports pundit broke the British record transfer fee – at that time – for the second time in his career with his £30m move to Old Trafford.
Ferdinand, who is widely regarded as one of the best Premier League defenders of all time, spent the majority of his United playing career under Ferguson.
Ferguson had incredible United captains during his reign at Old Trafford, including the likes of Red Devils legends Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Nemanja Vidic.
The former United manager axed Roy Keane from the club in 2005 and Ferdinand’s ex-United and England teammate Gary Neville received the captain’s armband.
Ferdinand admitted that he was crestfallen that Ferguson overlooked him for the captain’s armband and revealed how it motivated him to become even better.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t [hurt],” he told CNBC in 2015.
“Sometimes there are situations during your career where you think: ‘Am I getting the credit I deserve?’
“But at the same time, that is one of the things that maybe pushed me on year in year out, to keep improving, to sustain that level for all those years.”
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The real reason Sir Alex Ferguson did not hand Rio Ferdinand the captain’s armband permanently, even for the second time
Rio Ferdinand did wear the United captain’s armband at times, but the Red Devils legend was never permanently appointed to the role under Ferguson.
The former England international would be snubbed for the club armband for a second time after Nemanja Vidic succeeded Gary Neville in the role.
Ferdinand, who was made England captain under Fabio Capello in 2010, admitted that Ferguson explained the reason he snubbed him after the player’s retirement.
“Ferguson was very much on your case at all times,” he added.
“He was very much about personalities and working out you as a person.
“I used to feel I was never given enough credit when I was playing under him – me and Vidic used to talk about it quite a lot.
“It wasn’t until I retired and I spoke to him that he said to me: ‘With your personality, if I’d given you too much credit, you might have got carried away.’”
Ferdinand left Old Trafford in 2014 after playing under David Moyes and went on to briefly play for Queens Park Rangers before calling it time on his career in 2015.