Rio Ferdinand's surprising statement about Wayne Rooney

Ferdinand and Rooney were two of the basic pillars of Manchester United in a glorious era of the British club. They enjoyed many years of success together at Old Trafford, winning several titles, from the Premier League to the Champions League.

They played together between 2004 and 2014, and that period will be remembered as one of the club's best under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. Since then, the level of the red devils has dropped significantly. However, the former centre-back has now revealed in a podcast that Rooney was the worst teammate he played with during his playing career. Ferdinand explained how he used to argue with the now Birmingham City manager repeatedly on the pitch during matches.

In the latest episode of the BBC podcast, hosted by Rugby League legend Rob Burrow, who lives with motor neurone disease and asks guests seven questions using his looking machine, Ferdinand explained how his wish for Rooney being a better player fueled the discussions.

The worst teammate. I probably had more arguments with Wayne Rooney, to be honest with you. We never came to blows, it was in the field, Ferdinand said. We never actually argued in training, it was only on match day, we probably argued once every two or three games, fucking and blinding, shouting at each other because I wanted more from him, he claimed.

Rooney's level

The former defender admits that he believes that Rooney had much more level to offer on the field, he knew what he was good at and that he could do more. I wish he was more effective. But he loved football so much that he wanted to play football as if he were playing in the park, and we used to argue, I told him to shoot and he yelled at me, admitted Ferdinand, who also praised Rooney's level.