Rio Ferdinand labels rumours of him being Erik ten Hag’s No 2 at Man United ‘mad lies’ – but insists he would ‘crack the whip’ on underperforming Old Trafford stars if he had the job!
- Rio Ferdinand has confirmed he has not applied to be the new Man United No 2
- The Red Devils icon slammed reports about him becoming assistant as ‘mad lies’
- But Ferdinand claimed he would ‘crack the whip’ on United’s players if he did
- United want a new boss to take over this summer; Ajax’s Erik ten Hag is an option
Rio Ferdinand has insisted rumours about him becoming Manchester United assistant manager are ‘mad lies’ – but has revealed he would ‘crack the whip’ on their underperforming players if he did.
Ralf Rangnick, currently in interim charge of the club, is set to ‘move upstairs’ into a consultancy role this summer, with United looking for a new boss to replace the German. It was revealed on Monday that Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has been interviewed for the role.
And there was speculation Ferdinand would become ten Hag’s No 2 if the Dutchman took the job – something the legendary former defender denied on his Five YouTube channel.
Rio Ferdinand has reaffirmed rumours about him becoming Manchester United assistant manager under prospective new boss Erik ten Hag (pictured) in the summer are ‘mad lies’
Red Devils icon Ferdinand, however, claimed he would ‘crack the whip’ if he did become No 2
He said: ‘I’ve been online and I’m meant to be applying for the assistant manager’s job at Man United. I don’t know who gets this mad news. When have you pressed the send button and thought you’re not going to get me to come back and go ‘actually, no I ain’t, what are you chatting about?’
‘So whoever has told you that, you need to go back to your source and say ‘listen man’. But if I did go in there – woo – the whip would be getting cracked! Crack that whip. But no, no I’m not, man. I’m not going in there.
‘(Laughs manically) Listen, I ain’t coaching at Man United! You heard it here first, yeah? They’re mad lies. Find out who that geezer is man. Can’t lie like that.
‘Getting the fans all hyped thinking I’m coming. I ain’t man, I’m sorry to disappoint you fans. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone who wanted me to come in to be a coach and put my boots back on, but it just ain’t happening. It’s not the right time’.
Ferdinand insisted the new United CEO Richard Arnold (centre) has a ‘massive’ decision on his hands when choosing who to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season
Ferdinand then stated getting the decision right was crucial for the Premier League club as they look to get back to the success they enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson when Ferdinand was playing at Old Trafford.
He added: ‘Big decision, man. This is the one that changes everything at the club right now. This is the one that has to change everything at the club. This has to be the one for the group to get success, sustained success.
‘It’s a huge decision, man. This is a massive, massive appointment. We’ve been in a bad situation for far too long.’
Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino, formerly at Spurs, Sevilla chief Julen Lopetegui and Spain’s Luis Enrique are also in contention, but Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out of the running.
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