Rio: Giggs would have kept me

 

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes he would have had his contract extended another year at Old Trafford had his old team mate and friend – assistant manager Ryan Giggs – been instated as chief coach for next season.

The 35-year-old was released from Man United on the expiry of his contract and signed to Harry Redknapp’s QPR last week.

The decision to move Ferdinand on was in the hands of new boss Louis van Gaal, but had Giggs (who stepped up as interim coach on the departure of David Moyes in May) been offered the manager’s position going forward into next season, the centre-back believes he would have kept his place in the squad.

“When Ryan Giggs took over the job at United, he had to look at it and prepare as if he was going to be in the seat for next season and he made it clear to me that I’d have been a part of his plans,” he told reporters.

“As you know, things in football change quickly. A new manager came in and things went a different way.

“I made it clear at the time that Manchester United had to tell me they didn’t want me, for me to leave the club and that was always the way it was going to be.

“That’s what happened at the end of the season. The club said thank you and goodbye. That happens in football. The club’s bigger than any player and I’m happy to be here (at QPR) now.”

Ferdinand will play a key part in Redknapp’s upcoming QPR Premier League run and says he will face a very different challenge at Loftus Road to the one he was used to at Old Trafford.

Having spent 11 seasons as a Red Devils favourite under former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Ferdinand had grown accustomed to battling it out at the top in both domestic and European tournaments.

He is a six-times Premier League champion and once Champions League winner, as well as having won other domestic honours including the FA Cup and League Cup (twice) with the side.

Now he plays for newly-promoted QPR, Ferdinand’s fight will be focussing more on Premier League thriving and surviving than wining major competitions.

“It’s a different proposition to what I’ve been used to but it’s a great challenge I’m looking forward to,” he said.

“We need to get points on the board as quickly as possible and hopefully after a successful season here, we’ll be staying in the Premier League.”

“It’s a different proposition to what I’ve been used to but it’s a great challenge I’m looking forward to. I play to win all the time whether it’s a match or training and that’s the case here. We want to win games and get the points on the board.

“We need to get points on the board as quickly as possible and hopefully after a successful season here, we’ll be staying in the Premier League.”