Ferdinand made comments about Ronaldo and Phil Jones
Rio Ferdinand has played down talks of a rift between himself and Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following a couple of public disagreements that have taken place over the past week.
The former United defender made comments about the club’s decision to award a new contract to Phil Jones and Solskjaer’s choice to not to tell Cristiano Ronaldo to ‘sit down’ after being substituted against Young Boys last week.
Solskjaer was quick to respond to his former team-mate’s remarks, suggesting that Ferdinand “sometimes comments on things he doesn’t really know”.
However, Ferdinand has been keen to stress that there is no animosity between the pair and insisted that if he’s wrong, he will be the first to admit it.
“Ole’s [Gunnar Solskjaer] come for me the other day in the paper!” Ferdinand joked whilst on the latest Vibe with Five show. “He came for me, I can’t believe it!
“When I see Ole, I’m going to give him a big hug. I’m going to shake his hand and say, ‘it’s all love, I love you, man!’ I’m his biggest fan.
“Ole’s at the wheel, it wasn’t happening until I said it. I’ve got no beef, I’ve got no beef with anyone at Man United.
“Some stuff is said in the heat of the moment, and you get things wrong here and there. It’s a phone call, man, just call me.’
Rio Ferdinand: "Ole's come for me in the paper the other day. I can't believe it. When I see Ole, I'm going to give him a big hug man. I'm going to shake his hand and say 'Listen man, it's all love. I love you man'." #mulive [@rioferdy5] pic.twitter.com/gAOSghepkn
— utdreport (@utdreport) September 20, 2021
The United manager was annoyed that the 42-year-old had labelled Red Devils’ defender Phil Jones – who didn’t feature once during the 2020/21 campaign – a “waste of time”, leading the Norwegian to claim that Ferdinand was “completely out of order”.
This was not the end of their back-and-fourth however, as the ex-defender then suggested that if he was United’s manager, he would’ve told Ronaldo to “sit down” after he was seen shouting instructions to his team-mates from Solskjaer’s technical area during the Red Devils’ defeat to Young Boys.
The six-time Premier League winner’s comments clearly angered Solskjaer, who gave a very clear response to Ferdinand’s claim.
“Rio, again you know, sometimes he comments on things he doesn’t really know,’ Solskjaer said in his press conference.
After the Red Devils’ boss responded to his remarks, Ferdinand has since admitted that he is sympathetic to the pressure that Solskjaer faces in the United hot-seat.
“When I see Ole, it’s all love, hugs and kisses, that’s it,” he stated. “I understand it, because he’s under pressure, it’s big pressure.
“There are people throwing questions at you and you react in the heat of the moment, I get it.
“At the end of the day, I think they know deep down that there’s no malice in me. They’ve all shared a dressing room with me, they know what I’m like.
“If I’m wrong, I’ll hold my hands up, like I did last week with Phil Jones.”
Following their disappointing loss in the Champions League last week, United beat West Ham at the weekend, courtesy of a dramatic last-minute Jesse Lingard winner.
Related links:
- Jesse Lingard should have celebrated against West Ham, says Michael Owen
- Solskjaer says Ronaldo was denied two stonewall penalties at West Ham
- Phil Jones fires back at “poor” Rio Ferdinand comments
