Rio Ferdinand names Sir Alex Ferguson's best trait as Manchester United manager

Rio Ferdinand has named Sir Alex Ferguson's best trait while the pair were at Manchester United.

Ferdinand joined United from rivals Leeds in 2002 in what was a controversial move at the time. The decision would turn out to be a good one for the centre-back's career though as, over 12 years at Old Trafford, he won plenty of silverware.

At the helm for the vast majority of his spell at Old Trafford was Ferguson and the former England defender has explained the trait that helped steer United to success. Speaking to William Hill, the 43-year-old said: "I first spoke to Sir Alex during the 2002 World Cup.

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"I played well in the tournament and I remember I was speaking to some of his players like Nicky Butt and they were saying: ‘You’ve got to come to Man United, it’s bigger than being with England.’ My whole being of being a footballer was winning and up to that point I hadn’t won anything.

"I needed to go, I couldn’t waste any more time. I loved it at Leeds, but I needed to go and that was it.

"When you first sign you don’t know what to call him. He’s got such an aura about him, especially when you first go there.

"To be fair, he’s such a kind and giving human being and he really gets to know your personality and character. One of his best traits was that it wasn’t a blanket approach to everybody, he knew the right approach for each player.

"He would look at everything from a premediated angle, he was doing the mental health stuff before mental health was a thing."

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