TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand is now convinced that Real Madrid would be eyeing up one former Manchester United star if it weren’t for one major reason.
Manchester United will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon and Ruben Amorim’s men will kick off their post-season football tour in Malaysia.
The Red Devils will face ASEAN All-Stars at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, with kick-off for the friendly match scheduled for 1:45pm UK time.
Ruben Amorim’s side ended their lacklustre 2024-25 season on Sunday after United beat 10-man Aston Villa 2-0 in their Premier League match at Old Trafford.
United’s Premier League victory over Aston Villa moved the Red Devils to 15th place in the table on the final day of the season, with the club enduring a torrid season.
The Red Devils suffered their worst finish in the Premier League era and United failed to secure European football for the 2025-26 season at Old Trafford.
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand drops major ‘shoutout’ for ‘quality’ ex-Man Utd attacker who is thriving, key ‘mistake’ made by Red Devils
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand argues major elephant in the room over Napoli star Scott McTominay after Serie A title success
Scott McTominay left Manchester United last summer and the 28-year-old Scottish midfielder completed a sensational move to Serie A outfit Napoli.
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Napoli agreed a £25.7m transfer fee to sign Scott McTominay in 2024 and the former United youth academy product has found major success in Italy.
McTominay impressed under Antonio Conte at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the 2024-25 campaign and has played a key part in Napoli’s title triumph.
The former United midfielder scored 13 times and picked up six assists in 36 matches across all competitions for the Italian side in his debut season.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand insisted that McTominay would be valued at around £100m and would be on Real Madrid’s radar if he weren’t “Scottish.”
“If his name was ‘McSaucio,’ he’s going for £100million,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“Because he’s Scott McTominay and he’s Scottish, nobody is talking about big fees or Real Madrid looking at him.”
READ MORE: Ruben Amorim told Man Utd star who has ‘experience in abundance’ can no longer ‘keep up’ in tactical system
Ex-Man Utd star Scott McTominay hailed as ‘massively underrated’ after his impact under Antonio Conte in Napoli’s Serie A title win
Former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison praised Antonio Conte for unlocking Scott McTominay’s true potential amid Napoli’s successful Serie A campaign.
“He scored more Serie A goals than Dennis Law now, breaking his record at the weekend [McTominay scored a brace in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Torino],” Hutchison said in April, as per The Scotsman.
“He’s playing in his best position. The biggest compliment is that his manager, especially someone like Antonio Conte, who’s normally been quite rigid in his playing style, he’s gone from a back three to a back four to accommodate McTominay.
“I mean, that’s a massive compliment when a manager changes your complete style and philosophy for one player. He’s massively underrated.”
Napoli edged out Inter Milan to the Serie A title by only a single point after a 2-0 win over Cagliari at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium last Friday.