Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate ranked Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk ahead of Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand in his Premier League blind ranking picks.
Rio Ferdinand is widely regarded as one of the best Premier League centre-backs of all time and the 47-year-old had a stunning spell at Old Trafford in his career.
Signed from Leeds United in 2002, the Manchester United legend lifted six Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and two League Cups with the Red Devils.
Ferdinand was a linchpin defensive figure for Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams of the past and struck up a formidable – and memorable – partnership with Nemanja Vidic.
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Rio Ferdinand during the Spanish Super Cup semi-final match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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Sir Gareth Southgate ranks Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand as the second-best Premier League centre-back of all time
The Football Boardroom posted a TikTok clip of Sir Gareth Southgate ranking 10 Premier League defenders, both past and present, in a blind rankings challenge.
Southgate shared the pitch with Ferdinand for England when the Manchester United legend was emerging on the scene as an up-and-coming defensive prospect.
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The 55-year-old ex-Three Lions manager admitted that Ferdinand was a “top player” and was deeply impressed with him when he crossed paths with him for England.
“You know, with Rio, I’ll go with two,” he said.
“I played with him as an 18-year-old with England and he was so good with the ball. Yeah, top, top player.”
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Patrick Dorgu celebrates with his teammates during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United.
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Sir Gareth Southgate selects Virgil van Dijk ahead of former Man Utd centre-back Rio Ferdinand in his rankings
Ferdinand spent the majority of his prolific Red Devils playing spell under iconic former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the tail end of it under David Moyes.
The 47-year-old former TNT Sports pundit left Old Trafford in 2014 and signed for Queens Park Rangers, with the United legend retiring as a football player in 2015.
Speaking on Virgil van Dijk, Southgate put the Liverpool captain at No 1 in his rankings ahead of Ferdinand and hailed the Dutchman’s “influence” at the Reds.
“I’ll put him at one,” he said.
“I might regret that because you might come with another name, but I think he’s just been such an influence on Liverpool winning the league.
“Huge signing for them.”
Ferdinand made a whopping 455 appearances for the Red Devils and the former England international netted eight times and picked up nine assists for United.
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