Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has opened up on his “best teammate” of all time after admitting that they will have a relationship that will “last forever.”
Ferdinand, who previously opened up on the worst teammate in his prolific career, was a kingpin figure in the heart of Sir Alex Ferguson’s United teams of the past.
The 45-year-old former United defender shared the pitch with several talented players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane.
Ferdinand’s illustrious playing spell at Old Trafford saw him lift six Premier League titles, a Champions League and two League Cups before his United exit in 2014.
The TNT Sports pundit, who revealed how Ferguson would handle one of Erik ten Hag’s problems, briefly went on to play for Queens Park Rangers before retiring.
Despite sharing the pitch with legendary players like David Beckham, Ferdinand insisted that one former United teammate stood out for his “best relationship.”
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Ferdinand on relationship with United legend Nemanja Vidic
One of the defining moments in Ferdinand’s career came when Ferguson entered the 2006 January transfer window and completed his acquisition of Nemanja Vidic.
Signed from Spartak Moscow for a reported £7m transfer fee, Vidic established a formidable partnership with Ferdinand and perfectly complimented him in defence.
United legends Ferdinand and Vidic are widely regarded for being part of one of the Premier League’s best defensive partnerships of all time.
Speaking to Rugby League legend Rob Burrow, Ferdinand opened up about his time with Vidic and how their styles seamlessly “blended” together on the pitch at United.
“My best teammate, who I had the best relationship on the pitch with, was Nemanja Vidic,” he said on the BBC podcast ‘Seven.’
“He was my defensive partner. Me and him played centre-back together and we [played] perfectly well. Our styles blended.
“Mine and his relationship was something unique. We felt for probably four of five, maybe six, years that you could feel certain strikers wouldn’t want to play up against us. They knew it was going to be a tough day.
“That was a real kind of relationship that will last forever. A lot of partnerships where I have to be the guy, I wanna be the one who’s the main guy and we were really a partnership and a collaboration really of trying to be the best partnership rather than the best individual in that.”
Vidic was the yin to Ferdinand’s yang at United
Vidic’s influence was felt at United under Ferguson and the ex-Red Devils captain excelled at Old Trafford thanks to his commanding partnership with Ferdinand.
The 42-year-old former United defender spent nine seasons at the Red Devils and captured five Premier League titles, a Champions League and three League Cups.
Despite his success at Old Trafford, Vidic previously admitted that a move to Liverpool could have been on the table ahead of Ferguson signing him for United.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE back in April, he said: “The first moment I was in contact with the club [United] was December 2005. But at the time, Liverpool was also involved.
“I spoke with Rafa Benitez and he was the one who was first in touch with me when I was at Spartak Moscow.
“My English was not good; my wife, Ana, was actually talking to him because my English was not great.
“He was asking me if I [wanted] to come to England and certain things, everything was great. And then he didn’t call me back for two or three weeks. Fergie obviously got in touch.”