Rio Ferdinand may well have won all there is to win during a trophy-laden 12 years with Manchester United, but the former defender claims the "most enjoyable football" of his career came with the Red Devils' rivals Leeds United.
The ex-England centre-back spent just two seasons at Elland Road having been signed from West Ham back in 2000. It wouldn't take long for the young defender to catch the eye of English football's elite as just two years on United paid a British transfer record fee of around £30million for the 23-year-old.
Ferdinand would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation and win 14 major honours with United, but despite such relentless success, the former centre-back has since admitted the most enjoyable football of his career came away from Old Trafford. Ferdinand revealed it was in fact with Leeds where he most savoured his experiences of the beautiful game, while asserting that his Elland Road exit was "difficult to accept" for the club's fans.
"As much as there was a lot of talk about me going to Man United and it was emotional, for a lot of the fans it was difficult to accept," Ferdinand told BT Sport back in 2020. "But I think in the long term it was proven that the reasons why I went were justified.
"But I probably had my most enjoyable football when I played here [at Leeds]. I loved it at West Ham but we didn’t win that much, I loved it at Man United, we won a lot but with that came a lot of pressure.
"So the enjoyment factor isn’t as free-spirited as it was when I was here at Leeds where we won a fair amount in terms of games, got to some good heights, Champions League semi-final etcetera, and there wasn’t that added pressure or expectations with it.
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"We were a young squad, all good lads, all socialised together as well and I just had some fantastic times here. I really enjoyed my football here, enjoyed my time, the people were great.
"Where I lived was fantastic so I’ve never had anything bad to say about Leeds. It’s always been somewhere that I’ve always appreciated as it was part of my journey.”
Despite Ferdinand's fondness towards the Whites, the 43-year-old recently revealed he piled the pressure on Leeds in order to force through a move to United at the time. The West Yorkshire club, who reached the lofty heights of a Champions League semi-final in 2001, had little choice but to accept given the perilous financial position they found themselves in.
"At Leeds I went and sat in [club chairman] Mr [Peter] Ridsdale's office and waited for about five-and-a-half, six hours and said to him, 'I'm not going until you sort out a deal for me to go to Man United'," Ferdinand revealed to BT Sport in 2019. "I didn't go public.
"We reached a compromise, a situation where he felt he was getting the right part of the deal and I got my opportunity to go to Man United. I was adamant I wanted to go because I felt that was the right time and right move for me."
Ferdinand's move was indeed justified given the incessant success he achieved with United, but it seems silverware wasn't the be all and end all for the centre-back during his illustrious career. It's clear the iconic defender will always treasure his fond footballing memories with the Whites, too.
