Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United can forget about winning the Champions League due to their poor defence.
Jose Mourinho’s side start their European campaign against Young Boys in Bern on Wednesday as they look to improve on last season’s disappointing exit to Sevilla in the last 16.
United have won three of their opening five league fixtures this season but have kept only one clean sheet. It is a far cry from the stability provided by Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic during the club’s last success in Europe’s elite competition a decade ago.
Rio Ferdinand has said Manchester United have no chance of winning the Champions League
And with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus waiting in Group H, Ferdinand cannot see a repeat of their 2008 triumph any time soon.
Asked if the defence was good enough to launch a European challenge, Ferdinand said: ‘No, they aren’t and they won’t be.
‘They haven’t bought anyone in who is going to change that. They’ve got a Superman (David de Gea) in goal. If he’s not in goal I don’t know what would’ve happened over the last four years. The guys in front of him, there are inconsistencies every week.
‘You can’t build a defence on people that aren’t going to be reliable. And then when people are in there they haven’t performed.
‘Has (Victor) Lindelof worked? No. Has (Eric) Bailly worked? No. (Chris) Smalling and (Phil) Jones haven’t kicked on, given the potential they showed when they first came through the door.’
Problems in defence have not been the only concern for Mourinho. He has taken issue with criticism of his handling of Marcus Rashford, producing a hand-written note at his press conference last Friday to point out that his young striker had played more minutes than many Premier League rivals of a similar age.
Wednesday’s clash will be the first chance the 20-year-old has to return to the United side after his two strikes on England duty. And Ferdinand believes it is the apprentice, rather than the master, who has to get a message across.
He called David de Gea ‘Superman’ but spoke in less glowing terms about United’s defenders
‘I think Rashford sits there and thinks he should start in this team,’ said BT Sport pundit Ferdinand. ‘He has to be sending messages to the manager saying, ‘I am the man’.
‘You ask any player, coming on as a sub — that means nothing. I see that as disrespect.
‘You can bring me all the minutes in the world, I don’t care. I want to walk out on that pitch as the starter. I don’t think it is all Mourinho’s fault. I think there’s a balance.’
It was Rashford’s displays in Europe which originally caught the eye, marking his first-team debut with two goals against Midtjylland in the Europa League and playing a key role as United lifted the trophy the following season.
And it is on the European stage that Ferdinand wants to see the striker make a statement of intent, adding: ‘I remember watching him at Celta Vigo in the Europa League. He was like Roy of the Rovers, 19, taking free-kicks and corners. That is what I loved about him when he first came in.
‘There was a single-mindedness, a young kid with no fear. I want to see that again.’
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Chris Smalling scored against Watford on Saturday but Ferdinand said he has not ‘kicked on’