Ferdinand lifts lid on Man Utd pals Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, claiming training was tougher than real matches

FORMER Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has opened about the tough training sessions at the club – claiming they are more challenging than some real games.

During the centre-back’s time at Old Trafford he played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Ferdinand was tasked with defending against such attackers by then manager Sir Alex Ferguson and he believes due to his teammates quality, training was sometimes harder than actual matches.

Speaking to BT Sport, Ferdinand said: “I always used to feel blessed I was at a club like Man Utd because we had so many great players.

“Every day you had to be on it or you would be embarrassed.Â

“Louis Saha was a great example. Phenomenally talented player, all of his attributes would test you daily.

“Robin Van Persie, Diego Forlan, playing off both feet and made sure you had to be on your toes. The obvious ones, the Rooneys, Ronaldos and Van Nistelrooys.Â

“All of these players, you sit there in training, your friends would go ‘what’s it like playing against him?’

“I’ve got to get through the week first against my team-mates, let alone play on Saturday against whoever I’m playing against, so it’s good to have that.”;

Ferdinand spent a total of twelve seasons at United making 455 appearances for the club.

He won six Premier League titles and a Champions League for the Red Devils and he was keen to stress that he benefited from practising and testing himself against world-class players everyday.

Fellow pundit Joleon Lescott said likewise emphasising that coming up against a range of top strikers in training made him a better centre-back.

On his time at Manchester City, Lescott said: “I think there was a variety of strikers at City in my time.

“[Carlos] Tevez, [Edin] Dzeko and Sergio [Aguero], you’d have to expect them in different ways.Â

“It makes you adaptable in games. That is what certain defenders are missing.”;