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Rio Ferdinand Hits Back At TalkSPORT Trio Over Phil Jones Comments

Rio Ferdinand Hits Back At TalkSPORT Trio Over Phil Jones Comments

Rio Ferdinand has responded to the TalkSPORT panelists that claimed his comments on Phil Jones had “overstepped the line”.

Alex White

Alex White

Rio Ferdinand has slammed a TalkSPORT panel after they responded to his comments concerning Phil Jones earlier this week.

During Ferdinand's podcast Vibe with Five, he said that Jones had been a "waste of time" during his time at Manchester United, particularly in recent seasons.

When asked about the former England international, Ferdinand said: "He's taking up a youth team player's position in that squad right now...

PA

"He's never been able to fully establish himself in the team. Whether it's injuries, lack of form, lack of confidence. I think he should've gone ages ago. He should've gone before Chris Smalling went. Find a new club and play some football...

"If I was in the squad with someone like that I wouldn't talk to them. They are a waste of time, why would I chat to you and give you any energy, taking that away from my other team-mates who are here to play and go into battle for 90 minutes every week."

In response to Ferdinand's comments, Jim White, Simon Jordan and Trevor Sinclair believed that he had "overstepped the line" which was posted on social media.

Ferdinand has since strongly responded to the comments and labelled the three panelists as "clowns".

PA

During the TalkSPORT show, Sinclair stood up for Jones and saw nothing wrong with his current situation at United: "Of course he (Jones) is going to accept (the new contract). He probably has aspirations of getting into the first team.

"I look at Phil Jones I see a player that has been crippled with injuries over the years, all different kind of injuries as well.

"I don't see a bad egg, I look at him, I think he looks like a good pro, he's not going to cause lots of problems, he's got a family, he's got kids, he needs to try and maximise the amount of finance he earns in his career.

"Why would he turn down a contract of Manchester United? I think the only people that need to be criticised are the people that offered him the contract because it has not worked out again.

"For Rio to come out and criticise him and say he should leave the club and he's holding down an academy player's opportunity to go into the first team, I'm not happy with Rio about that, I think he stepped over the line for me."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football, Manchester United, Trevor Sinclair, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand