'Humble yourself' - Rio Ferdinand sends Liverpool message to Manchester United

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes his former club need to follow Liverpool's example to reach the pinnacle of football again.

The Red Devils have struggled for consistency since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013.

While they have won various pieces of silverware in the years since, the Premier League has eluded them and their last Champions League win was in 2008.

At the moment, United trail the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool by a long way.

Their big rivals are fighting for the Premier League title while the Red Devils are in a battle to finish fourth and secure Champions League football for next season.

Having made a number of unsuccessful managerial appointments in recent years, United are on the brink of another big decision in the summer. The current incumbent Ralf Rangnick is set to step aside at the end of the campaign.

And speaking about the rebuild that faces the next Red Devils head coach, Ferdinand said on Vibe with Five (h/t the Mirror ) that Liverpool are the blueprint to follow.

"It's then going to be another upheaval, new style to implement and players understanding that," he said. "I think personally United have got to write off the next year or two in terms of trophies, minimum.

"Say, ‘we're going to rebuild what we have, get our recruitment right and there is a certain style of play under this new manager that we are going to go with and he is going to have time to get it all right, there is going to be mistakes, a few things that go wrong but we are going to stick with this guy and give him a minimum of two years to work it out’, and see the progress and that development happen.

"It's going to take that long, and you can't have that transition and win. It doesn't happen.