Rio Ferdinand dropped his two cents on Marcus Rashford’s Aston Villa after Jadon Sancho sparked backlash with his message to the Manchester United loanee.
Marcus Rashford left Old Trafford before the winter window shut last week and completed a sensational loan move to Premier League side Aston Villa.
Aston Villa agreed to cover the majority of the 27-year-old Manchester United player’s wages and did not have to pay the Red Devils a loan fee.
United also included a buy option of £40m in their deal for Rashford, who fell out of favour under Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim.
Rashford made the bench in Villa’s fourth-round FA Cup tie against Tottenham and the United forward came off the bench in the second half of the 2-1 win on Sunday.
The England star enjoyed a decent cameo for Unai Emery’s men, which was his first minutes of professional football since his last United match in December 2024.
Man Utd legend Ferdinand on three players
Jadon Sancho was heavily criticised after he took to social media and left a telling message for Marcus Rashford after the player’s Aston Villa debut.
The 24-year-old Manchester United winger, who is currently on loan at Chelsea, wrote the response of “freedom” on Rashford’s social media post on Instagram.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand reacted to Sancho’s comment and pointed out the fact that other players have impressed since their Old Trafford exit.
The 46-year-old United legend highlighted Antony’s impact on his loan spell at La Liga club Real Betis, while he praised Scott McTominay for his run at Napoli so far.
Ferdinand has also been impressed by Anthony Elanga’s spell at Nottingham Forest and called him a “flying winger” amid his run of form this season.
“You look at Antony, he’s got a man-of-the-match performance and a goal and assist in two games,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“McTominay is playing like primetime Jude Bellingham at the moment. You’ve got Elanga, who’s a flying winger.”
Ferdinand talks Rashford at Villa
Ferdinand added that he could see Rashford following in the same footsteps as other players by “unlocking” his true potential during his loan spell away from United.
The United legend added: “You’ve got all these players that are leaving the club that are looking like new, dynamic footballers because the shackles are off, and the cloud and the pressure of Old Trafford, the badge, all that that brings, is allowing them to go, ‘You know what, wow, what a difference that is.’
“You’re probably going to see the same from Rashford. It’s about unlocking what has unlocked Old Trafford for these players to perform.”
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