Rio Ferdinand claims Man Utd would ‘silence’ one team’s crowd and how one fan had his head in ‘his hands’

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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has claimed that the Red Devils knew how to “silence” one Premier League rival’s crowd during his time at the club.

Ferdinand first arrived at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson and enjoyed incredible success at United, including lifting six Premier League titles.

The 45-year-old TNT Sports pundit was a key defensive figure for Ferguson’s United teams of the past and forged a formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic.

Ferdinand briefly played under David Moyes after Ferguson’s retirement and later signed for Queens Park Rangers in 2014, with the United legend retiring in 2015.

During his prolific career at Old Trafford, Ferdinand knew the feeling of walking away with the ultimate bragging rights over United’s Premier League rivals.

The former United centre-back, who recently opened up on a signing Ferguson missed out on, has now opened up on his interaction with one crowd in particular.

READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand names football legend who could have won more Ballon d’Ors than Cristiano Ronaldo

Ferdinand on Arsenal vs United

United faced Premier League rivals Arsenal en route to the Champions League final in 2009, which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

The Red Devils defeated the Gunners at Old Trafford in the first-leg semi-final clash, with John O’Shea scoring in United’s 1-0 win in the Champions League.

United would beat Arsenal in the return leg at the Emirates, with Park Ji-sung opening the scoring before a Cristiano Ronaldo brace sealed a 3-1 win.

Ronaldo famously scored an incredible 40-yard free-kick against Arsenal in the aforementioned fixture, with Manuel Almunia caught by complete surprise.

Ferdinand recalled his experience from the second-leg Champions League tie and how Ronaldo’s strike ‘silenced’ Arsenal fans at the Emirates.

Ferdinand on Ronaldo and one Arsenal fan

According to Ferdinand, Ronaldo was getting “distracted” ahead of the Champions League tie and the footballer-turned-pundit told one Gunners fan to shut up.

The former United defender revealed that he ran over to the Arsenal fan who had taunted them after Ronaldo scored his thunderbolt against the Gunners.

Speaking on his VIBE with FIVE show, Ferdinand said: “We used to silence that crowd, man.

“Remember Ronaldo’s rocket. Silence. Before that game, yeah, you know, some of your fans were feisty before that game giving us in the warm-up so much gyp.

“And I remember Ronaldo getting a bit and distracted and I remember I said to one of their fans, ‘Shut up,’ whatever at Arsenal at the Emirates. He was like getting a bit rowdy and then Ronaldo scored that goal, man.

“I ran over to that fan from the warm-up – nowhere near where we celebrated – and just give him some, man, seriously. Yeah, his head was in his hands. Yeah, he was gone!”

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