Rio
Ferdinand returns to Manchester United for the first time on Sunday,
complaining the club he served for 12 years never let him say goodbye
before his move to QPR.
Ferdinand
made 455 appearances and a huge contribution to United’s success under
Sir Alex Ferguson. But executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward stunned the
defender by choosing to tell him immediately after the last game of last
season, in the away dressing room at Southampton, that he was not going
to be offered a new contract. As a result, the 35-year-old former
England captain left for Loftus Road in July.
‘I had great years at Old Trafford,’ Ferdinand told the BBC.
‘I never got to say goodbye when I left, which was unfortunate, so it
will be a nice opportunity to say bye to a lot of people who supported
me and helped me.’
Ferdinand’s
feathers will be ruffled further by Louis van Gaal, who yesterday
appeared to dismiss him as a has-been. Asked if Ferdinand would still be
a valuable asset, United’s manager replied: ‘No. There is a time to
stay and time to go and I think he decided to go. He was a great player
and maybe he is still a great player, but there is always a time to go
for a player in a club.’
This
weekend the first extracts of Ferdinand’s autobiography will appear in a
newspaper serialisation, with the centre half expected to give
forthright views on John Terry, David Moyes and Roy Hodgson.
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