Rio Ferdinand risked the wrath of Manchester United fans by applauding Erling Haaland off the pitch on Wednesday night.
Haaland, 22, scored five goals in Manchester City's 7-0 win against RB Leipzig at the Etihad. The result secured Pep Guardiola's side a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Norway international Haaland bagging his 39th goal of the season.
United legend Ferdinand was at the Etihad to watch Haaland's exploits in his role as a pundit for BT Sport. When the striker was taken off in the 63rd minute, Ferdinand applauded Haaland from the BT Sport studio... leaving some United fans unimpressed.
Ferdinand's questionable reaction was filmed by BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey, who uploaded the video to Twitter during the game. "Even clapped off by a United legend," wrote Humphrey. "What a player. What a performance."
Fans on social media were bemused by Ferdinand's actions. One Twitter user responded with the sick emoji, while another wrote, "United legends are always supporting their big brother Man City these days. They know their place now."
Some fans questioned whether Roy Keane, a fellow United legend and often brutal critic, would do the same. One Twitter user insisted Keane "wouldn't" do that, while another joked, "Don't show Roy Keane this!"
Do you think Rio Ferdinand was right to give Erling Haaland such an ovation? Let us know in the comments below!
Yet other fans believe Ferdinand was just being respectful to a world-class player. Speaking to BT Sport at full-time, the ex-defender was full of praise for Haaland. "That man, what he’s doing in football right now is absolutely astonishing at his age," said Ferdinand.
"Breaking records, and more records are going to come tumbling down in the next few years. In this team, the way that they are playing, he looks absolutely confident."
With Haaland in the team, City will be confident of winning silverware this season. Although they failed to win the Community Shield and Carabao Cup, Guardiola's side are still going strong in the FA Cup and the Premier League, sitting five points behind leaders Arsenal in the latter competition. Yet the trophy they really want is the European Cup.
City have never won the Champions League before, but Guardiola and Haaland will be confident of ending their long wait this season. Ferdinand added, "I know he’ll come out here with a little bit of swagger because what he’s doing right now. He’s got every single defender before a ball is even kicked on the ropes thinking, 'Wow'.
"They’re losing sleep the night before the game thinking about him, they’re in the tunnel looking at him thinking he’s bigger than they’d imagine he’d be, and he’s actually getting into the game, they’re playing the ball direct today and they’re going, 'He’s actually faster than I thought he was - he’s got rockets in his boots!'
"This kid, for a defender, is nightmare opposition when they get it right... He brings a superpower to the team, and this is already a supercharged team. Adding him - and scandalously I’ve heard people say he affects the dynamic of this team and the way they play - 39 goals in a season, you’re only affecting it in one way and that’s making it better."
