Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has opened up about how Sir Alex Ferguson called him “crazy” before a game because he “refused” to do one thing.
Ferdinand, who spent most of his time playing for United under Ferguson, has publicly acknowledged the impact of the illustrious former Red Devils boss.
Ferdinand was an important player for Ferguson while he was at Old Trafford as he was the core of the United defense. The former player has now turned into a pundit and a commentator.
However, Ferguson and the former United centre-back, who formed a formidable partnership another icon Nemanja Vidic, weren’t always in agreement on everything.
In 2012, Ferdinand made headlines when he declined to wear a Kick It Out T-shirt prior to United’s Premier League match against Stoke City.
The former Premier League defender didn’t think Kick It Out had done enough to stand behind his brother Anton Ferdinand when it was claimed that Terry had allegedly racially abused him.
Ferguson was incensed by Ferdinand’s position at the time as the legendary United manager had said that all of his players would don Kick It Out t-shirts.
Ferdinand recounted how Ferguson became upset at him before the game and his choice not to wear the Kick It Out T-shirt when speaking with Chelsea icon John Obi Mikel.
Ferdinand told The Obi One Podcast: “I refused to wear a Kick It Out T-shirt because I didn’t believe they backed my brother in the situation with John Terry, so I just didn’t wear the T-shirt.
“I said I’m not wearing it. My mistake was that I didn’t tell the manager.
“The manager’s mistake was that he did a press conference saying all the team would wear it, but he knew the situation that revolved around my brother and didn’t ask me.
“When I said I’m not wearing it, he went crazy in the changing room before the game.
“Luckily, we won and he didn’t need to kill me anymore, but I went to see him the next day and we kind of just talked it out.
“He said maybe he should have come to see me before, because he’s an honest guy, that’s what I liked about him. He wasn’t just wrong and strong.
“If he thought he could have done something differently, he would always own up to that which, as a player, you respect it even more.”
