Rio Ferdinand says Man City treble should 'burn the chests' of Manchester United players

Former centre-back Rio Ferdinand insists Manchester City's Treble success last season should inspire Manchester United ahead of the new campaign getting underway later this month.

After watching United end their six-year trophy drought by lifting the Carabao Cup back in February, City experienced a fairytale end to the campaign, lifting the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup to equal United's famous treble-winning campaign of 1998/99.

Pep Guardiola's side, who defeated United 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley in June, won their fifth Premier League crown in six seasons and conquered Europe for the very first time in their history. United, on the flip side, finished third in the Premier League last term and bowed out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage.

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The two clubs, despite the progress United made under Erik ten Hag last season, remain a million miles apart in terms of their overall structure and their recent success. The Reds have played second fiddle in Manchester for the best part of a decade, but Ten Hag is doing everything within his power to bridge the gap between the two clubs.

City's success last term was a stark reminder to United of just how far they have fallen behind their rivals in pursuit of success. However, Ferdinand believes City's success last term has the potential to put fire in the bellies of United's players this season.

"I hope it hurt all those players," Ferdinand told talkSPORT. "I hope all those players couldn't look and watch the TV and couldn't watch