Sir Alex Ferguson pulled up Rio Ferdinand for 'creating nervousness' at Man Utd

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has opened up about a negative trait that Sir Alex Ferguson had to coach out of him during his time at Old Trafford.

Ferdinand, 45, is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders to have ever played for the Red Devils'. However, even he wasn't without flaws during his tenure at Old Trafford. The former England captain was once reprimanded by Ferguson for his habit of flailing his arms when he couldn't find any passing options.

Ferdinand was renowned for his ability to stride out from the back with the ball and find a teammate between the lines of the opposition. However, there were instances when he was unable to do so as the opposing team would swiftly mark his teammates out of play.

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While Ferguson, now 82, would have berated other United players for not making themselves available, he also had to instruct Ferdinand to stop signalling his frustration with his body language. Reflecting on his experiences under Ferguson's unique management style, Ferdinand shared how the Scot coached this trait out of him, reports the Mirror.

"When I first joined United, I was coming out with the ball and there were no options, not enough people were showing," Ferdinand recalled on the Vibe with FIVE podcast. "He pulled me aside and said, 'Rio, you need to stop doing that with your arms on the ball'. I asked, 'Why? ' and he replied, 'It creates a nervousness in the stadium'.

"I looked at him and didn't say nothing, I just went 'okay', but in my head, I was thinking 'What are you talking about? ' A couple of weeks later, he got