Rio Ferdinand has admitted his future remains unsure and has expressed his concern at United’s decision to allow Nemanja Vidic to join Inter Milan on a free transfer this summer. Vidic, who alongside Rio formed arguably the best centre-back pairing in the Premier League over the last decade, played his final game at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Taking a break from selling “5” caps and trying to convey a message by posting links to songs on Twitter, Ferdinand has said that the decision to allow Vidic to leave could backfire, just as Sir Alex found out himself when he sold Jaap Stam to Lazio.
“Only time will tell if Man United regret allowing him to leave,” said Rio. “Obviously Jaap Stam played on for quite a few years at a good level after he left Man United and the same thing could happen with Nemanja. He’s a great player and it’s a shame he had to leave.”
Speaking of his future, the 35-year-old said that he’s determined to keep playing but he’ll have to wait and see what the new manager’s plans are, given that his contract expires at the end of the season.
“I’m fit, I’m healthy and I want to continue playing,” Ferdinand said. “I’ve spoken to a lot of mates of mine in the game and they all say the same thing – keep playing for as long as you can. I want to do that.
“The club at the moment is in a position where they can’t really make any decisions about anything. For me to be saying that I want to do this or that is irrelevant. We’ve got to see who becomes the new manager and boxes will be ticked from there.
“I just want the best solution for the club. Whatever it is I’ll respect it and, after that, I’m open to offers. I’d rather wait and see what happens at United and then there’ll be a decision to be made.”
“There’s no point harping on about what David Moyes did and what went wrong,” continued Ferdinand. “We’ve got to turn the page. You can’t move forward if you keep looking back. A new manager will come in and he’s the person we’ve got to get behind, to work with and make sure he gets it right.
“It’s important everyone works together to continue the process of winning, as that’s what we are. We’re a team that’s won lots of titles and cups and we want to get back to that. We have to work together to make sure the new manager has success for the club, himself and ourselves. It didn’t work this time, but hopefully it’ll work next time.
“It’s been a disappointing season, 100%. The table doesn’t lie. We’re in a bad position and nobody expected us to go this way. It’s for us, as players, to take responsibility, and if you asked anyone in the changing room they’d say we do take responsibility for our performances.
“Obviously, the powers that be decided to change the manager. Hopefully the new guy can come in and change the fortunes of the club.”
The chances of Rio remaining at the club are, quite frankly, rather slim. It’s time for both him and United to move on.
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