Rio Ferdinand claims Manchester United should never have sold £18m player under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

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Rio Ferdinand believes that Manchester United made a mistake by selling defender Chris Smalling to Roma back in 2020.

United’s centre backs ranks have been a revolving cast since Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic’s reign of terror came to an end.

Money was spent on Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof but neither became the first-choice defenders United wanted.

Then came the huge deal for Harry Maguire, which has not proven to be value for money.

United went down a different route by signing a proven winner in Raphael Varane – but that hasn’t worked out either.

Lisandro Martinez is a quality player but his injury record hasn’t been great whilst we are now seeing a 36-year-old Jonny Evans look like one of the better options available.

Rio Ferdinand on Chris Smalling

Hindsight allows everyone to say that United should or shouldn’t have signed certain players.

United’s recruitment has been pretty shoddy for years now but Rio Ferdinand has drawn attention to a player United let go rather than one brought in.

Ferdinand has told FIVE that United should never have let Chris Smalling leave the club, believing that offloading both him and Jonny Evans was a mistake.

“I’ve said this many times, it was a travesty that they sold Jonny Evans,” said Ferdinand. “He should never have been allowed to leave. He was the best defender, the best centre back, when I left. When me and Vidic walked out of the door, the experience, the old timers, we were gone, he was the best defender that you’ve got. I just couldn’t believe that he was allowed to leave – him and Chris Smalling, to be fair.”

“I don’t believe they should have been allowed to leave, I thought they knew the fabric of the club. You need those types,” he added.

Smalling was loaned out to Roma in 2019 under Ole Gunnar Solskjear before completing a permanent move for around £18million a year later.

Smalling has gone on to become one of the top centre backs in Italian football, racking up more than 150 appearances in the Eternal City.

Smalling take will divide fans

It’s easy to forget some of Smalling’s mistakes in a United shirt.

Smalling certainly wasn’t the perfect defender and few could have blamed him for fancying a fresh start away from United.

Now 34, Smalling is still going strong in Italy and few United defenders have looked as impressive in recent years.

Some will agree with Ferdinand and believe that United would have been better off keeping Smalling rather than splashing the cash on Maguire, others will feel that his time at Old Trafford simply had to come to an end.

Either way, Smalling hasn’t let his United exit bring him down.

Smalling has kicked on again and brought new life to his career in Rome, all whilst – arguably unfairly – not even being featured for England since 2017.