‘They are NOWHERE NEAR it’: Rio Ferdinand rules out Manchester United’s chances of winning the Champions League before kick-off against Atletico Madrid, insisting there are ‘maybe five teams ahead of them… at least’
- Rio Ferdinand has written off United’s chances of Champions League success
- The Red Devils take on Atletico Madrid in their last-16 first leg this evening
- United legend Ferdinand says his old club are ‘nowhere near it’ this season
- Paul Scholes says stars can’t be considered great players until they win things
Rio Ferdinand has written off Manchester United’s chances of winning this season’s Champions League, as Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves detailed why the Red Devils are behind their biggest rivals.
United take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 clash in Europe tonight, with the Red Devils outsiders to lift the famous trophy come the end of the campaign.
Premier League duo Manchester City and Liverpool are the frontrunners to win the competition, while Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also in the mix.
Rio Ferdinand has written off Manchester United’s chances of winning the Champions League
Now, United legend Ferdinand believes that his former club stand no chance of winning the European title this season, insisting they are ‘nowhere near it’ when compared to their rivals.
When asked if United can triumph, he said on BT Sport: ‘No I don’t, if I am being honest. They are nowhere near it in the league, yes it is a knockout competition, but I see three or four maybe five teams that are ahead of Man United to win this, at least.
‘You need a level of consistency to perform, home and away, to get the job done. There have been occasions where we have seen something but they have taken two steps back. You need 11 stroke 13, 14 players in every game to perform and Man United have been guilty of not doing that enough.;
![The Red Devils take on Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of this season's competition this evening](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/23/19/54567279-10544273-image-a-28_1645645959527.jpg)
The Red Devils take on Atletico Madrid in the last-16 of this season’s competition this evening
Ferdinand’s former United team-mate Scholes added that while the Red Devils boast talented young players such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga, they should not be considered ‘great players’ until they win trophies.
He said: ‘It is the biggest club in the world and it needs to be winning trophies. They spend a lot of money year in year out but they haven’t produced.
‘We thought this year was going to be a little bit different with these young players. But these young players that everyone thinks are great players… they aren’t yet.
‘They aren’t great players until they have won something. We keep talking about the potential to win something, they haven’t done that yet and they still have to prove it.’
Hargreaves insisted that United’s poor recruitment is the reason behind their barren run of five years without a trophy.
![Paul Scholes added that United's young stars are not great players 'until they win trophies'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/23/19/54567289-10544273-image-a-29_1645645990447.jpg)
Paul Scholes added that United’s young stars are not great players ‘until they win trophies’
‘The biggest reason they are behind and they are not going to win the Champions League or Premier League is recruitment,’ he said.
‘Look at Man City and Liverpool, they virtually never miss. They have a formation and a style, and add one or two.
‘For United, they need to get their recruitment right this summer, figure out how they are going to play moving forwards, the style, philosophy and get one or two in. They have a lot of great players but they have been brought together by a lot of different people with different ideas.’
United are looking for a reboot this summer once Ralf Rangnick’s interim spell comes to an end, with PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax manager Erik Ten Haag linked with the managerial position.
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