Rio Ferdinand has insisted that one of his former Manchester United teammates struck fear in the hearts of rival players even before he stepped on the pitch.
The 46-year-old Manchester United legend had a remarkable playing career at Old Trafford and Rio Ferdinand hoovered up the major silverware at the club.
Ferdinand lifted six Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and two League Cups under legendary former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 46-year-old TNT Sports pundit spent the large majority of his United spell under Sir Alex Ferguson and was a linchpin defensive figure for the 83-year-old Scotsman.
Ferdinand made 455 appearances for the Red Devils and the former United star struck up a remarkable defensive partnership with fellow club legend Nemanja Vidic.
The United legend, who is regarded as one of the best Premier League defenders of all time, would leave Old Trafford and sign for Queens Park Rangers in 2014.
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Photo by Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
Photo by Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images
Why Rio Ferdinand named Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney in his all-time Premier League front three
Rio Ferdinand didn’t hesitate to pick former Manchester United and England teammate Wayne Rooney as his No 9 in his best Premier League front three.
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Wayne Rooney is considered one of the best strikers in Premier League history and the 39-year-old former Everton star had a sensational impact at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson signed the former United and England striker from Everton in 2004 when he was only a teenager and Rooney had a prolific spell with the Red Devils.
Rooney went on to become United’s all-time leading scorer after he eclipsed fellow United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton in the goalscoring chart.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Ferdinand claimed that the ex-England and United captain made his presence felt in the tunnel with “centre-halves twice the size of him.”
“Right, I’m going to go Rooney up front,” he told Peter Crouch and Ally McCoist.
“Number nine. I saw centre-halves twice the size of him shaking in their boots in the tunnel. Forget being on the pitch.
“Ridiculous amount of goals. Club top goalscorer.”
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What Sir Alex Ferguson said about Man Utd and England legend Wayne Rooney as a young player was a real eye-opener
United signed Rooney in a deal worth £27m from his boyhood club Everton, but even former Red Devils boss Ferguson initially had doubts about him as an outright goalscorer.
“We thought more of him as a footballer – we didn’t reckon that he was an absolute out-and-out goalscorer,” Ferguson told ITV Sport in an interview, as per The Harold in 2015.
“The evidence wasn’t there for that – he was an outstanding footballer and that was the reason we wanted him.”
Rooney left Old Trafford in 2017 and went on to play for Everton for a second time, DC United and Derby County before he called it time on his legendary career in 2021.