Rio Ferdinand reveals Manchester United dressing room reaction as Carlos Tevez moved to Man City

Rio Ferdinand has admitted that former Manchester United chairman David Gill instructed him to try and convince Carlos Tevez to stay at Old Trafford ahead of his infamous move to Manchester City back in 2009.

After joining United from West Ham United in August 2007, the former Argentina international swapped Old Trafford for the Etihad Stadium just under two years later, joining City on a five-year deal. The Blues were keen to splash the cash in an attempt to bridge the gap between themselves and their rivals and landed Tevez in a big-money deal.

It was a highly controversial move, not least for swapping one side of Manchester for the other, but for the fact the striker had scored 15 goals the season prior, highlighting that United were losing a key player. Tevez was frustrated by the fact that the Reds had not offered him a new contract and felt he had been 'disrespected' by the club.

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Therefore, he had little hesitation in completing a move to City. Now, more than 13 years on, former Reds defender Ferdinand has detailed how surprised he was at Tevez's decision to leave Old Trafford, although he has admitted that he could see his point of view.

"The big one was when Tevez went there from us," Ferdinand told William Hill. "That moment I was like 'Rah' because I knew how good he was, we knew exactly what player they were getting.

"We were like 'Nah', at the time I was like 'This guy doesn't understand the rivalry, what is he doing?' But at the same time, I knew the story behind it, he wanted to sign the contract at Man United well before that time.

"Man United delayed and didn't come to him, and the kind of guy he is, I have respect for him in the end for