Rio Ferdinand's off-air comments after Manchester United's exit from Champions League have emerged as he dismissed being too negative towards the club.
The Red Devils crashed out of Europe after a 1-0 defeat (2-1 on aggregate) against Atletico Madrid as Renan Lodi's winning goal sent the Spanish side through to the quarter-finals. United have come under immense scrutiny in the aftermath of the result as pundits like Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves ripped into their former club.
Ferdinand also didn't mince his words when assessing the club's dire situation. There are claims, however, that due to United's stature, the criticism is heightened and blown out of proportion.
But Ferdinand has dismissed that notion and says he calls it as he sees it as BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey revealed a chat between the pair and Hargreaves when they went off-air following Tuesday night's game.
Hargreaves said to Humphrey: "Are we being too negative?", to which the BT Sport host claims Ferdinand responded: "We can comment on what we see on the pitch." The former United centre-back then expanded on those comments insisting he always sees it down the middle and would love nothing more to sing the praises of Ralf Rangnick's men - but that wouldn't reflect the current situation at Old Trafford.
He said: "Nothing would please me more than to be positive and screaming, and when Man United do something good I'm the loudest to scream and shout in the studio or on social media.
Is Rio Ferdinand too negative towards Manchester United? Comment below
"But you can't sit here and not say what you see, that's what our job is as pundits. You can't say Man United played well and were super consistent over the 90 minutes for the last few months, they haven't been.
"We have to be true to ourselves as pundits, last night was a perfect example of where Man Utd are - some good moments, some not-so-good moments, and some moments where you put your hands over your eyes That perfectly encapsulated what Man Utd have been like this season."
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