With his contract set to run out at the end of the season, it is not exactly the ideal time for Manchester United centre back Rio Ferdinand to get on the wrong side of boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Rio refused to wear a Kick It Out top, which led to an angry Ferguson claiming he would be dealt with.
Sir Alex said of the incident, “At the press conference I spoke about it, it is disappointing,” he added, “It is embarrassing for me.” This has led to many people claiming that Manchester United will be looking to sell Rio Ferdinand in January rather than let him run out his contract.
However, it now appears that all has been resolved with the matter and it was all down to a lack of communication between the manager and his defender. Ferguson has now said, “I've spoken to Rio. There is no issue. There was a communication problem but it has been resolved.”
He added, “He felt I should have spoken to him on Friday and I didn't anticipate that he'd have a problem wearing the shirt. My advice is to him is that I always feel a union is stronger than an individual. It's important he airs his grievances to the right people, to the PFA or the FA. As a manager you lay down policy and you don't want that ignored and that's where my anger came from on Saturday. There are no lingering problems and we move on.”
Manchester United face Braga on Tuesday evening but it is believed that Rio Ferdinand will be rested.
