Watch: Rio Ferdinand refuses to sign Liverpool shirt – ‘Are you crazy?’
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand showed his love for his former side before Liverpool’s Premier League game against Fulham.
Ferdinand, who retired from professional football in 2014, now works for BT Sport and was part of their punditry team for the game at Craven Cottage.
The 43-year-old spent some time taking pictures and signing autographs with supporters before the game but was stunned when one fan asked him to sign a Liverpool shirt.
“He just asked me to sign a Liverpool shirt,” Ferdinand said while filming himself. “Are you crazy?”
Ferdinand, who made 455 appearances in all competitions for United, outright refused to sign the shirt of their arch-rivals.
He also scored two goals against Liverpool during his time at United and managed to immerse himself in the rivalry between the two clubs.
“Obviously I hadn’t grown up a Man United fan so when I came here, I was quickly made aware of what the fixture meant,” Ferdinand told United’s official website in 2017.
“The manager and the lads who’d been here a long time, especially those who had come through the youth system, they all told me. They understood it as fans of the club but also as players.
“I remember Butty [Nicky Butt] was the first person, as a player, to say to me: ‘Listen, make sure you’re ready. No matter how bad you think that Liverpool team is, it will be a different team against Man United.’
“I think there is a mutual respect between both football clubs, but also a mutual sense of, ‘I respect what you’ve achieved and done, but I can’t stand you.’ I quickly immersed myself in that.
“As a football player you become a fan of the team you play for. I was at United for 12 years, so that dislike for Liverpool became stronger and stronger the longer I was in that shirt, because I immersed myself in everything that was Manchester United and became a fully-fledged supporter.
“I still am, my kids are and loads of members of my family are too. You quickly understand what it means to play, and to beat, Liverpool, to stop them winning anything or achieving anything. To keep them underneath you is something that was ingrained in you as a Manchester United footballer.”
My guy wants me to sign a Liverpool shirt 🤯😱😂
It’s good to be back!! pic.twitter.com/1yynYC11lR
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) August 6, 2022
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