Rio Ferdinand: Leeds United fans anger 'wrecks my head'

Rio Ferdinand has said "it wrecks my head" that some Leeds United fans are still angry he left the club for rivals Manchester United over 20 years ago.

The pundit and former centre-back completed the £30m move in July 2002.

Speaking on ex-rugby league star and motor neurone disease campaigner Rob Burrow's new podcast, Ferdinand said he had been "taken aback" that some fans were still upset about the transfer.

He called on them to "understand the situation and the context".

Ferdinand said: "About six months to a year ago I did a game and the Leeds away fans were just in front of me. I swear to you I was taken aback by how upset and angry they still are with me. This transfer was over 20 years ago and I'm thinking 'are you still upset about this?'"

The former England captain explained: "Unfortunately the club was run a particular way that they had to sell all of the assets. They had to sell me. I had to go. So it didn't matter where I was going.

"I wasn't a local Leeds lad so I didn't really understand the rivalry. I chose to go to the best club which had the best opportunity for me to win and that was Manchester United, and that decision proved to be right because I was very successful there and won so many things," Ferdinand added.

"I understand the rivalry, but sometimes you've got to understand the situation and the context."

Ferdinand is the latest guest on the BBC's The Total Sport Podcast hosted by the former Leeds Rhinos player.

Called Seven: Rob Burrow, the podcast sees the rugby league legend and his wife Lindsey interviewing seven sporting greats and asking seven questions.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association patron Burrow, who uses AI technology and recordings of his voice to communicate, was helped by the charity with eye-gaze technology to make the series.

Listen to Seven: Rob Burrow on BBC Sounds

Speaking to Burrow, Ferdinand also named Wayne Rooney as his worst-ever teammate, saying: "We probably argued once every two or three games - big [arguments] like effing and blinding, screaming at each other."

"It was because I wanted more from him, because I knew what he was good at and I knew he could do more and I wanted him to be more effective," he explained.

"Wayne wanted to play 30 or 40-yard passes like Paul Scholes, and he could do it, he was that good, but I wanted him to go and score 30 or 40 goals a season because he could," he said.

"We played one season and he scored 30-something goals and he wasn't happy because he wasn't getting involved in the game and being able to dictate games and do loads of passes and get on the ball as much. He was having to play high as a number 9," he added.

He said: "I couldn't get my head around it. But Wayne loved football that much he wanted to play like he was playing in the park and be involved and we used to argue a bit about that."

"He'd do a great pass and he'd jog into the box and I'd be like 'turn and shoot - what are you doing?' and he'd scream back at me and we'd go back and forth. We had lots of arguments like that but good ones. They're good arguments to have them ones."

In the podcast, Ferdinand described making a TV documentary about bereavement following the death of his wife Rebecca as "a cathartic experience".

Rebecca died from breast cancer, aged 34, in 2015.

He said: "I was learning so much about myself and my family and ways in which I could help my kids move forward."

In the BBC documentary, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad, shown for the first time in 2018, the footballer explored the ways bereaved parents come to terms with loss and shape new lives for themselves and their children.

"I think if I hadn't done the documentary I don't think I'd be where I am right now with a wife and two added kids to the family because I think I would have got myself in a hole," Ferdinand said.

"I think it would be quite easy to dig a hole and just sit in that hole and not come out and sink into depression."

Lindsey agreed they experienced similar emotions when making Burrow's documentary Living with MND.

"Rob's always been a family man, very private, and didn't particularly like the limelight," she said.

"For Rob to open up his doors at a time when he is most vulnerable I think takes a lot of courage and bravery."

Ferdinand also spoke about how going to a ballet school as a child put him "in good stead" for playing football.

He ruled out ever appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, saying "my kids would disown me" and confirmed "there is no footage of me in a tutu" on the internet.

Ferdinand said he was expecting to be asked about the white suit he wore when signing for Manchester United in 2002 and Burrow did not disappoint.

He described it as "a phenomenal suit" but said the Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had failed to appreciate it, asking: "What have you come as?"

Ferdinand said he would give the suit to the Manchester United museum.

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