Rio Ferdinand Named Overlooked England Star Who ‘Made Everyone Better’

Rio Ferdinand named five players who should have played more for England and singled out a star who made players "better".

Ferdinand was capped 81 times for the Three Lions, making his debut in 1997 and playing his final game in 2011.

Part of the 'Golden Generation', the 46-year-old played with a whole host of top players for his country but back in November 2023, he placed a spotlight on some of the players who did not get the minutes they deserved.

The likes of Andy Cole, Matt Le Tissier and Des Walker all got a mention but Ferdinand made a point of including Owen Hargreaves, a former colleague of his at club and international level.

Hargreaves made his name at Bayern Munich, winning the Champions League and four Bundesliga titles in seven years before signing for Manchester United - where he won the double in his first season.

Struggling with injuries, the midfielder only played 42 times in seven years for England - winning the nation's Player of the Year award in 2006.

However, Ferdinand believes that Hargreaves should have played more often as he had the capacity to bring the best out of the likes of Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

“Owen Hargreaves is another one,” the former TNT Sports pundit said on Rio Ferdinand presents.

“Playing for Bayern Munich, winning Champions League, winning Bundesliga, then comes to England.

“Does the same thing [with United]… he would have been another one. If it wasn’t Michael Carrick, [then] it should have been him. He was playing all the time.

“Because, again, I think he makes other players better around him. He makes [David] Beckham better, he would have made — if he played alongside him — Scholesy [Paul Scholes], [Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard [better] because he is a different player to those players.

“His profile is very different, just like Carrick’s is from those four players.”

Owen Hargreaves was England's Player of the Year in 2006. Image: Getty

Hargreaves played 34 times in all competitions in his debut for United but he managed a combined total of five appearances in his next three seasons.

Released because of his injury troubles, he was quoted as saying he felt like "a guinea pig" and felt as though injections played a key part in his knee feeling "like made of glass".

Hargreaves said his knees got "significantly worse through the injections" and had it confirmed medically that it was "absolutely" the wrong type of treatment to receive.

Sir Alex Ferguson dismissed the claims, stating, "Do you think I would allow that? Absolutely no chance. This club has to be successful and has to have the best people in the best positions to be successful. That's what we've got."

He joined rivals Manchester City and scored in his first appearance against Birmingham - but only featured a further three times.

Hargreaves left City shortly after and following a period training with Queens Park Rangers, retired from football