Rio Ferdinand has praised Manchester United cult hero Nani over an underrated trait that has often been overlooked during his former teammate’s run at Old Trafford.
Nani, who currently plays for Adana Demirspor, was brought to Old Trafford by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007 alongside former United teammate Anderson.
United paid a combined £30m fee to sign Nani and Anderson from Sporting CP and Porto respectively, with Nani establishing himself as a fan favourite at United.
Nani made 230 appearances for United and scored 41 times and registered 71 assists, with the Portuguese winger revered for his natural flair and dribbling.
The 36-year-old former United star lifted four Premier League titles, a Champions League and two League Cups before his departure to Fenerbahce in 2015.
Ferdinand singles out underappreciated Nani trait
Ferdinand appeared alongside Owen Hargreaves for a series on Manchester United’s official website, where the retired duo built what they deemed the ‘perfect player.’
The 44-year-old TNT Sports pundit, who revealed the best finisher he had seen at United, said that “pound for pound” Nani was a strong player to play against.
Ferdinand went on to say that both Nani and Patrice Evra would “take some moving in their weight class” after praising his two former teammates’ respective strengths.
“[I had the] pace, endurance, strength,” he said.
“Strength, though. I’m talking pound for pound Nani takes some beating.
“Pound for pound, forget like heavyweights, pound for pound Patrice and Nani would take some moving in their weight class.”
Ferdinand and Hargreaves’ strength player
Despite the praise for Nani’s underrated strength trait, Ferdinand and Hargreaves opted for another United hero when it came to building their perfect player.
While Ferdinand could have selected former centre-back partner Nemanja Vidic, the footballer-turned-pundit instead chose Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney.
“Sorry to cut you [the presenter], strength, [it’s] Wazza,” he said.
“I saw Wazza carrying centre-backs on his back, then scoring.”
Responding to Ferdinand, Hargreaves simply added: “Wazza was strong, to be fair. Yeah, I’m taking Wazza [as well].”
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