Man Utd risk repeating mistake Rio Ferdinand has slammed as "mind-boggling"

Rio Ferdinand has opened up on the "mind-boggling" decision that Manchester United made back in 2014 when they released him and a handful of other senior players - a move that the club are set to repeat this summer.

Ferdinand enjoyed a trophy-laden 12-year spell at Old Trafford but was unexpectedly axed by the club in the twilight years of his career. Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs also left the club that summer, meaning United lost a lot of experienced pros in one hit.

United were in a period of transition in the 2013/14 campaign after Sir Alex Ferguson had stepped down the previous year. His successor, David Moyes, had been sacked just 10 months into a six-year contract, meaning United were set to begin the new domestic campaign under another new manager.

The club are currently in a similar position, with incoming boss Erik ten Hag expected to significantly reshape a playing squad that limped to a sixth-placed finish last term; United's worst ever performance since the Premier League was formed back in 1992.

United have already confirmed that a number of senior players will be leaving Old Trafford this summer, including club-record signing Paul Pogba. Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard will also be leaving the club once their deals officially expire at the end of the month.

But ahead of United's summer cull, Ferdinand has claimed that the decision to allow three or four senior pros to leave the club at that point was nothing short of "mind-boggling".

Speaking about his own departure on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: "We played Southampton away, and I'd asked a couple of times if I was getting a new deal or not. I was told the manager hasn't worked out what he's doing yet and it gets delayed and