Sir Alex Ferguson was never one to take prisoners, and he let Rio Ferdinand have it after the swanky defender waltzed into Old Trafford with a few flicks and tricks up his sleeve

Sir Alex Ferguson “unloaded” on Rio Ferdinand after the defender joined Man Utd

Rio Ferdinand says he had a bit of an ego when he arrived at Manchester United – but Sir Alex Ferguson tore it down.

The former footballer, 45, was a before-his-time sort of defender when he broke through at West Ham in the mid-90s. He was good on the ball, could pick a pass or two and even had dribbling in his locker – the sort of attributes rarely found in a centre back, particularly an English one.

Swooning admirers labelled him a “Rolls-Royce defender”, and the Ferdinand says he spent much of his early career concentrating on maintaining that reputation. Though he got a big wake-up call after moving to Old Trafford.

“When I was at West Ham, I used to live on an estate and I had my mates being so jealous of me, so all I was thinking about was impressing them, and that could have been by doing a skill against a forward,” Ferdinand revealed on the Stick To Football podcast.

“We could have lost 3-0, but if I had done a skill, I was telling my mates to watch the highlights on Match of the Day for that skill, and that was my mindset… and [West Ham manager] Harry Redknapp was championing me for that, calling me a Rolls-Royce of a defender, so I wasn’t getting that defensive mentoring. Additionally, I was getting applauded in the media for being a different type of centre back.”

Rio Ferdinand was a pioneering English defender, with the kind of technical ability most centre backs