Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Ferdinand thought Fergie would sell him

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Rio Ferdinand thought Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was going to sell him two years ago.
In his book, Rio My Story, being serialised in The Sun, wrote that he feared his United career was over after being pictured leaving a London bar with his agent Pini Zahavi with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon in the background.
He revealed: "I FEARED the worst when the picture was in the papers and decided that I would go and see the manager when I arrived for training and explain.
"I didn't need to. He called me in first thing and went absolutely bananas. He said: 'What the hell's going on?'
"He hammered me and quite rightly. I got the treatment.
"I'd never seen him so angry; it was far worse than when I missed the drugs test. Much worse.

"I couldn't say a lot because I was in the wrong. I just said again, 'Boss, I don't want to sign for nobody. I want to sign for Man United. I told you at the beginning I want to sign for United.'
"For a moment I was worried he was going to say, 'B******s I'm going to sell you.'
"The meeting went on for 15 minutes and he was going: "You know how people will interpret it. It doesn't matter what you said.
'It doesn't matter if you were talking about the price of milk, the time of day or the colour of the table you were sitting at. It's just so stupid of you to go there and meet Kenyon.
'Once you walked into the restaurant and saw him there, you don't sit down, you go straight back out again.'
"I knew the general public were not going to give me the benefit of the doubt over this one because of how I had explained my missed drugs test.
"Soon after, in a game at Charlton, I was booed by the travelling United fans and it was an horrendous experience. I'd never had to deal with anything like that before.
"It wasn't something I'd expected. All I kept hearing was 'F*** off Rio.'
"I understood they were doing it because of what was being said in the Press about the meeting with Kenyon.
"What made it worse was that it was not long after the news about Chelsea supposedly having a meeting with Ashley Cole.
"Not only were the papers saying that I wanted to go to Chelsea, which was rubbish, but also that I should sign the new contract with United straight away because the club had backed me over the missed drugs test. But everyone has a right to negotiate.
"When I walked off I clapped the fans but they booed me even more.
"It was a sign of things to come and an uneasy relationship developed between me and the fans which went on for quite a while."