Rio Ferdinand tells Leeds fans why they are wrong about 2002 Man Utd transfer

Rio Ferdinand has detailed the story behind his controversial 2002 transfer to Manchester United, from rivals Leeds United.

Ferdinand is a legend at Old Trafford, enjoying a hugely impressive 12-year career with the Red Devils that saw him win everything but the FA Cup. The centre-back will go down as one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s best signings, and there were plenty to choose from. Ferdinand didn’t come cheap, however, arriving for just over £30million including add-ons and becoming the most expensive British player at the time.

But the rest is history, and Ferdinand went on to achieve huge success, although, not without upsetting more than a few Leeds fans in the process. Yet Ferdinand has claimed he only left Elland Road because of the circumstances at Leeds at the time.

He told the Joe Cole Cast: “After the season finished, he started talking to me, and he said ‘this club is interested. I said ‘listen, I’m quite happy, man’. But the club ain’t in a good place, and when he said the club needed to sell me, and he told me ‘if they don’t sell you, they have to sell 10’.

“And that’s why I went to a Leeds game recently with the away fans, who are the most punchy fans, and they were on me, aggressive, and I was like ‘it’s like 20 years ago!’ And if you look at the detail, I only left because I had to leave, really...and it was Man United. I know it’s a rivalry, but I want to win, and I brought £30million into your club and stopped you going extinct, almost. Once I knew Man United were interested in me, it was a no-brainer. I had to go.”

Ferdinand also revealed that, before he joined Leeds, he had the chance to go to Chelsea from West Ham United, where he began his career. “I was out shopping with my dad and then the phone goes,” the 43-year-old recalled. “The chief executive at West Ham said, ‘we’ve accepted a bid of £18m from Leeds. The moment he said that I was, I was gone. And, funnily, I was getting to the meeting to go and meet Leeds, Chelsea rang and said, ‘we’ll match whatever Leeds are offering’.

“And I said, ‘listen, with all due respect, thank you but I need to leave London because I was getting a lot of trouble off the pitch. My mates and that were going out all the time and I was going to the opening of an envelope, mate. Anything that was going on, I was there. I wanted to know what’s going. I was like a social butterfly so the best thing for me, for my career, was to leave and get away and not be pulled to go into the nightclubs.”