Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has conceded he felt the Red Devils could have shown him more respect before he left the club in 2014.
One of the finest central defenders the Premier League has ever seen, Ferdinand spent 12 years at Old Trafford, winning six top-flight titles and the Champions League in 2008. At the end of the 2013/14 season, the England international was informed by those above him he would not be given a one-year extension to his deal.
In turn, Ferdinand left the club on a free transfer and eventually joined then-Premier League outfit Queens Park Rangers. He penned a one-year deal at Loftus Road in the summer of 2014.
Despite his 14 major trophies won, Ferdinand's United departure was actually a rather muted one. There was no huge farewell to a defender who had given so much to the club across his 12-year stay.
In fact, as Ferdinand reveals, he was actually only informed he was being released in the immediate aftermath of the final game of the season, which came in the form of a 1-1 draw away at Southampton. Then-executive vice chairman Ed Woodward was the figure who told Ferdinand he was not being kept on.
Reflecting on his exit, Ferdinand told Vibe with Five: "I felt a lack of respect, that's what I felt. Someone who's been at the club 12, 13 years and had a successful period as it was, and they know you’ve been committed and the commitments been there... good times.
"The fans know there's been that type of connection. There were times tricky moments here and there but that's part of life; ups and downs, good times and bad times.
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"But the bottom end of it, there's a respect element and it's mad because you still see some players leave clubs. Barcelona do it brilliantly, we saw West Ham with the way they did it with [Mark] Noble. It was beautiful and them moments are something to savour."
The way Ferdinand was allowed to leave the club is not something that went down particularly well with his United teammates. The ex-QPR centre-back admitted he had asked to talk to Woodward about a potential new contract many times before he was bluntly told he wasn't getting one in the dressing room at St Mary's.
In the same summer as Ferdinand's exit, United also bid farewell to his long-time central defensive partner Nemanja Vidic and fellow club legends Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra. It seemed inconceivable to Ferdinand that the club would permit the departures of all of them in the same window, but that is exactly what they did.
