Rio Ferdinand admits that he did not feel totally comfortable at Manchester United due to the pressure he put on himself until he had won the Champions League at the club due to being surrounded by figures who had lifted the famous trophy.
The defender joined United from Leeds in 2002 and won the Premier League three times before he reached a final of Europe's elite club competition at Old Trafford. That came in 2008 in Moscow against Chelsea.
United won their third European Cup on penalties in the rain in the Russian capital after a 1-1 draw against the Stamford Bridge side. Ferdinand lifted the trophy alongside Ryan Giggs at the Luzhniki Stadium. It was a season where United became both English and European champions.
Ferdinand went on to make more than 450 appearances for United and won six Premier League titles in a trophy-laden spell at the club, before departing in 2014. But it was the Champions League win in Moscow which the defender admits was a key point for him.
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When he arrived at United, he was playing under a manager in Sir Alex Ferguson who had already claimed the trophy, as well as team-mates in the form of Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. In the directors box, legendary figure Sir Bobby Charlton was also watching on, helping United win the competition for the first time back in 1968. The defender was surrounded by those who had tasted that glory.
And the defender admits he put pressure on himself to win the trophy and that he did not feel totally comfortable around those at the club until he had done just that. Only then, he believed he would be forever in United's history.
Speaking to BT Sport, Ferdinand said: "I was surrounded by people in my changing room that had already won it, and I was surrounded by the hierarchy of the club - the Sir Bobby Charlton’s, etcetera - who had already won it as well. I think personally you want to be on that level with those guys, winning trophies and attaining achievements like that.
"Until that moment came I didn’t really feel completely comfortable around certain people at times, but that was just me putting pressure on myself internally. Once you do win that it’s a great feeling, and you’re forever in the history of a great club."
A Manchester Evening News special souvenir edition - Fergie's First - charts United's 1992/93 title-winning campaign and you can get your hands on one here
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