Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand detailed his swift departure from Manchester United, the manner in which it was done, and his regret at the situation not being handled differently.
Rio Ferdinand is a decorated Manchester United legend, arriving from arch-rivals Leeds United in 2002.
At the time, Ferdinand was the most expensive British footballer of all time and became an excellent servant for the club along the way winning six Premier League titles and a Champions League.
Ferdinand spoke at length on his YouTube channel about his exit from the club not being dealt with in the way he wanted.
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He detailed the situation of his final game where Ed Woodward informed him in the changing room after the penultimate game of the season that he would not be receiving a contract renewal after the season finished.
After being a massive character in the dressing room and a leader on the pitch Ferdinand said he felt numb to be informed of the clubs plans for him in such a swift, cold manner.
Rio said: ‘We played Southampton away and I asked if I was getting a new deal or not. We played the Southampton game, there was three or four players going at the same time as me so I thought they can’t let us all go.
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"The chief executive Ed Woodward came in to the dressing room at full time and said ‘By the way we’re not going to renew your contract’ I was numb, my head was down,
"Some of the lads in the changing room could see my mood and then after being clued in of what happened said ‘that’s a disgrace’.
Ferdinand went on to say that he felt physically he could no longer be the same player.
But with there being so many other personalities who had won many trophies at the club leaving during a similar time frame, he felt he could offer something to the dressing room and still be of service for the next manager coming in, which in this case was Louis Van Gaal.
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Along with Ferdinand leaving, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra were also on the way out, with Vidic already being told his contract would not be renewed the following season, there were preparations made so the club was able to wish the defender well on his departure.
Ferdinand was clear in saying that he had plenty of good times with Manchester United and furtherly debated topics around the treatment of Gareth Bale at Real Madrid and Jesse Lingard’s brother lashing out on Instagram at the fact Lingard was never allowed a chance to properly say goodbye.
The former England international said that no one should expect the perfect ending but that he simply wanted to finish having a moment with the fans at the end of his time with the club, and the correct way to end the chapter as Ferdinand’s career continued after that, albeit for a single season with QPR.
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The former English defender spoke of examples with Barcelona players and Mark Noble at West Ham that received ‘beautiful’ send-offs that Ferdinand himself wanted, as a chance to toast the good years of success at Manchester United.
Ferdinand also mentioned his testimonial against Sevilla as the solitary opportunity to celebrate his time at Manchester United once it had ended.
As parting gifts he gave all the players watches and Beats Headphones as he had a deal with the headphone manufacturer at the time.
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In spite of the testimonial, you get the feeling Rio just wanted a few moments at the end of the season to cherish saluting fans at Old Trafford.
Topics: Rio Ferdinand, Ed Woodward, Manchester United, Premier League, Football
Dharnish Iqbal