Man Utd failed to listen to "devastated" Rio Ferdinand over Sir Alex Ferguson warning

Manchester United’s failure to move on from Sir Alex Ferguson has been brought into sharp contrast by the nine-year anniversary of his famous farewell speech at Old Trafford.

United face yet another regime change this summer, with Erik ten Hag arriving from Ajax to take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who himself was a stop-gap after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November. Ten Hag will be the eighth person, including caretakers, to take the hot seat since Ferguson stepped down after 27 years of service in the role.

With a microphone in his hand, following a 2-1 win over Swansea City, Ferguson addressed the Old Trafford crowd for the final time. After reflecting on his career and thanking the fans, his staff and the players, Ferguson considered what comes next.

"I'd also like to remind you that when we had bad times here, the club stood by me, all my staff stood by me, the players stood by me,” he said. “Your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important.”

As we know, the new manager did not last long. David Moyes signed a six-year contract with United but was gone within 10 months. Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick and Rangnick have all tried and failed to live up to Ferguson since.

Rio Ferdinand is now a prominent pundit whose opinions carry plenty of weight around United. But back in May 2013 he was still a player and an authoritative figure in the United dressing room. Something he said about Ferguson then is worth reflecting on now.

"To win at Old Trafford, the man's desire to win football matches, to keep bringing success to the football club, he deserves a win in his last home game," said Ferdinand. "It's obviously a personal thing