Wes Brown has said that he would pick Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand over Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk. He acknowledged the Dutchman's abilities but claimed that his former teammate was "a different class".
Van Dijk is widely regarded as one of the greatest Premier League defenders of all time. He joined Liverpool from Southampton for a reported fee of £75 million in January 2018. He has since made 343 appearances for them, winning two Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League trophy, among others.
However, Wes Brown has claimed that he would pick his former Manchester United teammate, Rio Ferdinand, over the Liverpool star. He told 10Bet (h/t Metro):
"Of course, I could be being biased, but if you’ve seen Rio you know he’s just different class. Individually he could do everything, and he had such poise that meant he was rarely scrambling around for a slide tackle. He read the game immaculately, had pace, was always in the right position to make his job easier. He won so many trophies to show just how important he was to the great United side."
Brown also hailed Ferdinand's formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic, saying:
"He and [Nemanja] Vidic were the ideal partners for one another. Occasionally you just get partnerships like that which don’t come around too often. The two of them completely made each other work to the best of their abilities, and it spurred Rio on to get even better. If you talk about individuals, then it’s Ferdinand above Van Dijk for me every time, but it’s not by miles. I think Rio was the best defender to play for United, and perhaps in the Premier League."
Ferdinand made 455 appearances for Manchester United and won six Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy, among other honors.
Rio Ferdinand praised Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk for slamming Manchester United legend
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney criticized Virgil van Dijk amidst Liverpool's poor performances this season. He questioned his and Mohamed Salah's body language. The Dutchman then responded that he didn't hear such criticism last season when they won the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand shared his thoughts on this exchange on his YouTube channel, saying:
“I absolutely love that Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, is coming out and saying, ‘I ain’t having what people are saying, I don’t agree with that and I don’t agree with that’. I think it’s brilliant.
“This is what you want. This is what you need. You need players of character, a bit of personality. Whether you agree with him or not, it’s a different conversation, but I like the fact that he’s prickly and he reads it and he sees it, he hears it and he goes, ‘No, I’m not having that and I want to call it out’.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool are fifth in the Premier League standings after 17 games, while Manchester United are three points behind them in seventh.