Rio Ferdinand says he never wanted to leave West Ham when he did and has slammed some ‘out of order’ Leeds fans.
Ferdinand started his career with West Ham, graduating from their famous Academy before moving to Leeds United and then on to Manchester United where he enjoyed 12 trophy-laden years.
It all started for Ferdinand in the Hammers first team back in 1996 when he came on in a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
After proving himself to be one of the hottest prospects in world football at West Ham, Leeds paid a then world record £18m fee for a defender to take Ferdinand to Elland Road.
It is fair to say Rio, who has always been held in high regard at West Ham since leaving, is no longer universally liked by Hammers supporters or Leeds fans.
West Ham fans have been angered by Ferdinand’s ‘disrespectful’ push to get Declan Rice to sign for Man United.
And given the rivalry they have with Man United, many Leeds fans have never forgiven him for joining the Red Devils in another record deal for the time – £30m.
West Ham fans of a certain age will actually recall Ferdinand being caught on camera in tears as he left West Ham’s Chadwell Heath training ground the day he was sold to Leeds.
Now Rio Ferdinand says he never wanted to leave West Ham and has slams some ‘out of order’ Leeds fans.
Speaking in an interview with former West Ham teammate Joe Cole, Ferdinand insists he did not want to leave the Hammers when he did and says Leeds fans who abuse him need to show more understanding and respect.
Rio Ferdinand says he never wanted to leave West Ham and slams ‘out of order’ Leeds fans
Ambitious Rio says he begged then owner Terry Brown two summers in a row to sign players to complement the fantastic squad being assembled by Harry Redknapp and academy director Tony Carr. But Brown refused to push the boat out and the rest is history.
“Do you know what I didn’t want to leave West Ham, I didn’t,” Rio told the Joe Cole Cast for BT Sport.
“But for two summers I’d gone to Terry Brown who was the owner and said to him ‘are we gonna buy anyone?’ Because I knew what was under the bonnet. I knew that it was like me, Frank (Lampard), you (Joe Cole), (Michael) Carrick, (Jermain) Defoe, Anton (Ferdinand), Glenn Johnson all these players coming through – and we’ve got (Paolo) Di Canio, Trevor Sinclair etc at the club.
“This is the conversation I had with him ‘Just buy a few to add to this, we’re gonna do something, win an FA Cup or something’ and I’d have been happy with that I swear at the time. And he was like ‘We can’t go into the red’ and you’ve got to respect that, it’s fine, he was like ‘We’re not going into the red, there’s other clubs that are doing it, we’re not about that’.
“I was like ‘ok cool’ and that summer I was fine, the next summer I done it again and then don’t forget I went (to Leeds) before transfer windows happened, I went in November. So I went and played Leeds on a Wednesday night and we won, (Frederic) Kanoute scored, unbelievable. And the Leeds fans were singing my name in the game – it was weird – because there was rumours they were trying to buy me. They were singing my name, West Ham fans were singing my name it was a surreal moment really… the moment (West Ham accepted a bid) I was gone.”
Rio then revealed his disappointment with Leeds fans for recent abuse he suffered when covering their games as a pundit.
“Recently I went to a game and the Leeds fans were the away fans, who are the most like punchy (hardcore) fans, they were bang on me, like aggressive,” Rio said.
“And I was like ‘It’s 20-odd years ago and for one by the way if you look at the detail I only left (Leeds) because I had to leave, really. And it was Man United – and I know it’s a rivalry – but I want to go and win.
“But also listen I’ve actually brought £30m into your club and helped stop you going extinct almost. So that one baffles me. But once I knew Man United were in for me it was a no-brainer… I had to go.”
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