Rio Ferdinand fires back at Gary Lineker over controversial claim about Sir Alex Ferguson and 'terrible' Man Utd squad

Rio Ferdinand has fired back at Gary Lineker's controversial claim about Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United.

Man United slumped to their latest defeat at home to Fulham in the FA Cup as the holders were knocked out of the competition on penalties.

It's yet another setback for Ruben Amorim, who has endured a difficult start to his Old Trafford tenure.

After the game, Lineker referenced how Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool in a 'really good state' for Arne Slot following his appointment and questioned the end of Ferguson's legendary spell at Man United.

"If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state," Lineker said during BBC’s live coverage of Man United vs. Fulham last weekend.

"That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [time at Old Trafford]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. I think from there, they had problems," he added. "The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before."

Rio Ferdinand defended Sir Alex Ferguson amid criticism. Image: Getty

TalkSPORT duo Jason Cundy and Jamie O'Hara shared their views on Lineker's claim about Ferguson.

And Cundy agreed with Lineker's sentiment, claiming David Moyes inherited a 'terrible' squad when he replaced his fellow countryman at Man United.

O'Hara, however, disagreed as he refuted the claim.

Ferdinand, who played under Ferguson, has jumped to the defence of his old manager, arguing the Man United side he left was a strong squad.

"Average age of the squad Sir Alex left was 26.6 years old. Blend of youth + experience," he wrote on X, before listing the attacking players the club had on their books at the time of Ferguson's departure. "Our attacking players were... Rooney (27), RVP (29), Chicharito (25), Welbeck (22), Zaha (20), Nani (26), Ashley Young (27), Lingard (20), Kagawa (24), Valencia (27), Januzaj (18)."

In another post, he said: "19 international players."

In a third post, the ex-defender added: "Ps we won the league by 11 points... Since then the recruitment have been poor. But I’ve read over the last few days it’s The Boss fault. What a load of nonsense…."