Rio Ferdinand lifts lid on playing days in Twitter Q&A

Former England and Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has been taking questions from football fans on Twitter, with some surprising revelations among his responses.

The former England and Manchester United captain took the time to answer questions posted to the hashtag #AskRio on his way to watch Liverpool play Leicester City.

His answers lifted the lid on his views about the Manchester United squad past and present, as well as offering insight into some of his personal experiences for club and country.

One of the first questions got straight to the point: If he could bring any player to Manchester United, who would it be?

His answer? Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk: “The position we’re most in need!”

Ferdinand couldn’t resist a dig at Liverpool, with whom Manchester United have a strong rivalry, when asked where he would be “hiding” should Liverpool win the league.

“In my trophy room,” he joked.

He backed caretaker manager and former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, agreeing that the on-loan coach had exceeded expectations and should be given the role permanently.

Elsewhere, he admitted that the Manchester United loss to Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final had been his hardest night in a Manchester United shirt and that Carlos Tevez was the worst performer in training, but “unreal” on the pitch.

Perhaps the most surprising response came when Ferdinand was asked which striker in the Premier League and in Europe he hated playing against the most.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Leo Messi got the nod for his toughest European opponent, but it was journeyman striker Kevin Davies who he named as the player he despised facing in England.

Davies scored 68 goals in 316 Premier League appearances for Bolton Wanderers from 2003 to 2013.

While some Twitter users were surprised at this, others knew where Rio was coming from.

“@Kevin__Davies was a beast who bullied defenders that’s why defenders never enjoyed seeing his name on the team sheet,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Just proves what a handful @Kevin__Davies was! Great player and Bolton legend,” replied another.

Ferdinand declined to offer an explanation.