Social Media Watch

Jonathan Woodgate reacts to Rio Ferdinand’s Leeds United admission

|
Image for Jonathan Woodgate reacts to Rio Ferdinand’s Leeds United admission

Former Leeds United defender Rio Ferdinand has admitted his time his time at Elland Road was the most enjoyable of his career.

The rivalry between Leeds and Manchester United is one that stems back a long time and clearly still stands strong right now.

Star players swapping Elland Road for Old Trafford has never gone down well and perhaps the most infamous move was that of Rio Ferdinand.

Having joined the Red Devil’s for a British record £30million deal, Ferdinand’s immense reputation amongst the fans was ruined.

Since then, he’s received little more than hatred from large sections of the Leeds fanbase despite his move paying off with great success for Man United.

Speaking to BT Sport last season, Ferdinand claimed that in spite of six league titles under Sir Alex Ferguson and 455 appearances at Old Trafford, he enjoyed the ‘free spirit’ of the Leeds atmosphere:

“As much as there was a lot of talk about me going to Man United and it was emotional, for a lot of the fans it was difficult to accept.

“But I think in the long term it was proven that the reasons why I went were justified, but I probably had my most enjoyable football when I played here [at Leeds].

“I loved it at West Ham but we didn’t win that much, I loved it at Man United, we won a lot but with that came a lot of pressure. 

“So the enjoyment factor isn’t as free-spirited as it was when I was here at Leeds where we won a fair amount in terms of games, got to some good heights, Champions League semi-final etcetera, and there wasn’t that added pressure or expectations with it.”

These quotes have since re-emerged via SportBible on Instagram, with former teammate Jonathan Woodgate reacting in solidarity with Ferdinand:

It’s surprising that Ferdinand has said how much he enjoyed it here over Man United, considering the career he went on to have.

However, it shows how there’s more to the game than winning trophies.

The atmosphere at Elland Road has clearly had a massive impact on Ferdinand’s career and this just highlights the difference in support.

Those years in the turn of the millennium were brilliant and you can see why Ferdinand was so happy to be a part of it.

Share this article

Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.