Rio Ferdinand says ex-Man City star oozes ‘smugness’ as familiar dig aimed at Man Utd fans
Rio Ferdinand didn’t enjoy being “surrounded by City players” during BT Sport’s coverage of the Champions League final and claimed one of them had “smugness coming out of his pores” in the build-up.
Rodri’s goal was enough to beat Inter Milan in Istanbul and claim their first ever Champions League crown, completing the Treble in the process.
Ferdinand was joined by two former City players in Joleon Lescott and Mario Balotelli on BT Sport, along with neutral voice Cesc Fabregas.
And Ferdinand admitted ahead of the game that it had been a hard few days as a United legend spending time with Balotelli – who was making his first punditry appearance – before revealing his admiration for City.
He said: “I’ve had to suffer this guy [Balotelli] for the last couple of days, I’ve got to be honest with you. Smugness has been like electric coming out of his pores.
“Good luck to him but I don’t think we’ll be sharing drinks later after this game if City wins – I’m going straight to bed, he can enjoy himself.
“Greatness awaits these players if they can get over the line. From the Man United side of town, I respect this team. I’ve said that continuously in the lead-up to this game because of the way they play a great brand of football.”
Lescott then took a familiar dig at Manchester United fans, claiming Ferdinand wouldn’t receive too much flak after a City win as he lives away from Manchester, along with the majority of Red Devils fans.
Lescott said: “If it is a negative outcome I’ll have to suffer more because I live in the city and I’m around a lot of fans from both teams. Rio, like most Man Utd fans, live down south so he’s away from the parade and all that stuff anyway.”
BT presenter Jake Humphrey said to Ferdinand: “No comeback?”
To which Ferdinand replied: “No. I’m surrounded by City players, City fans all over the place. It’s doing my head in.”
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