Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he 'never' had any intention of joining Manchester United until he met Sir Alex Ferguson at the 2002 World Cup.
Man United had lifted seven Premier League titles by the time Ferdinand played for the Three Lions in South Korea and Japan. Ferdinand played in each of England's six games at the World Cup finals - scoring in a 3-0 win over Denmark in the Round of 16.
The 43-year-old controversially left Leeds for Old Trafford later that summer for a fee of £30million, which broke the world transfer record paid for a defender at the time. Ferdinand admitted that he was 'jealous' of the Red Devils' success under Ferguson but that his mind was immediately made up once Man United made a bid for him.
"I was actually jealous of Man United then," Ferdinand revealed on Stripped with Specs & Vuj. "Me and Frank Lampard went to Magaluf one year but it was FA Cup final weekend and they [Man United] were playing Newcastle. I went to the toilet, I think United were winning or they had won, and a United fan came in and said 'I bet you'd like to play for us' and I said 'never would I play for Man United. Dead team, no chance'.
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Ferdinand continued: "I was jealous because they kept winning. When other teams win you get jealous and you hate a little bit and I was that hater at that point. But when Sir Alex Ferguson came, that was it, I didn't look back.
"[I first spoke to Sir Alex] at the 2002 World Cup and that was when I really came of age a little bit. I played well during the tournament and I remember during that tournament Sir Alex Ferguson was speaking to some of his players like Nicky Butt and that. And they were saying 'you should come to Man United. 'It's bigger than being in England, when you go anywhere in the world there's madness and pandemonium whenever you go anywhere. You'll have a chance to win'.
"Then that was it! My agent said that they had put a bid in and it was a transfer record for a defender in the world and I thought I had to go. My whole aim as a footballer was about winning and up until that point I hadn't won anything. I loved it at Leeds but I had to go."
Ferdinand would go onto make 455 appearances for Man United during his 12-year stay at Old Trafford. He lifted the Premier League six times and was also named in the FIFPro World XI in 2007/08 after winning the league and European double.
After winning the UEFA Champions League in 2008, Ferdinand played in two more finals, losing on both occasions to FC Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 respectively. He spent his final season at Queens Park Rangers before announcing his retirement in May 2015.
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