Man Utd legend Ferdinand says "nasty" Liverpool player once left him needing stitches after shocking stamp

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand claimed former Liverpool star Fernando Torres once left him needing stitches after a stamp.

At his peak, Torres was one of the most deadly strikers of the Premier League era, netting 81 goals and claiming 20 assists in his four seasons at Liverpool.

However, the Spaniard often struggled against United. In his 19 career appearances against the Old Trafford club, Torres scored just four times and was only on the winning side on six occasions.

Yet such a record was not for the want of trying. Indeed, United legend Ferdinand laid bare the “nasty” things Torres used to do to try and get the edge over his opponent.

Ferdinand on Torres

Ferdinand labelled Torres a “great player” but insisted he was a master of the dark arts.

Speaking on his FIVE Youtube channel Ferdinand claimed: “Torres was hard, I was talking about this the other day. He was quick, he was strong, aggressive, ran in behind, did all the stuff you didn’t want.

“I was talking to [Rafa] Benitez about him actually, and he actually was a nasty guy sometimes on the pitch. Great player.

“He stamped on my foot once, and at half-time, I had about four or five stitches in my foot, the ball wasn’t even there.

“So he had an aggressive nature. But I enjoyed games against him. Drogba didn’t actually make the game as hard for me, but he scored big goals against us.”

When pushed for an answer on who was the better player, Ferdinand added: “I’m going to go Drogba because of the big goals he scored, but Torres was harder.”

These days Liverpool have a new maverick centre-forward, Darwin Nunez, and former Reds boss Rafa Benitez likened the Uruguay international’s development to Torres’.

Speaking to Sky Sports last month Benitez said: “My feeling is you are watching the game — as a manager you are really worried,”

“He has the pace to do that and run in behind. For you as a manager, he is someone you have to worry about then he will finish.

“When Fernando Torres first came to Liverpool, he struggled with putting chances away — he was a great player but he wasn’t a great finisher. We worked with him and in time he became the Fernando we knew.”