Football

Rio Ferdinand Hits Back At ‘Highly Disrespectful’ Jamie Carragher Over Casemiro Comments

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Cai Parry
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Cai Parry Sports Editor

Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.

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Published03 Sep 2024

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Ferdinand Carragher Casemiro

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has hit back at Jamie Carragher over his “highly disrespectful” comments about Casemiro after the midfielder faced heavy criticism for his performance against Liverpool on Sunday.

Rio Ferdinand has jumped to the defence of Manchester United midfielder Casemiro after the Brazilian came under fire for his errors in the Red Devils’ 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The five-time Champions League winner gave the ball away for both of Luis Diaz’s first half goals, with many fans and pundits heavily criticising the 32-year-old for his costly mistakes in the derby match.

Influencer Mark Goldbridge branded the former Real Madrid man “absolutely useless”, while Jamie Carragher said it was a “sad sight” to see him struggling so badly on Sky Sports after the game.

Of course, this comes just a few months after Carragher claimed that Casemiro should be looking to secure a transfer to either the MLS or the Saudi Pro League, brutally stating that he needs to “leave the football before the football leaves you” after his poor display at centre-back in a 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last season.

Ferdinand revisited Carragher’s comment on his latest podcast episode, in which he called the 32-time ex-England international “highly disrespectful”.

Rio Ferdinand Hits Back At Jamie Carragher Over Casemiro Comments

Posting a clip from his Rio Presents podcast on his X (formerly Twitter) account, Ferdinand tagged Carragher’s account and called him “out of order”.

“I heard Jamie Carragher say, ‘leave the football before the football leaves you.’ I just think that’s highly disrespectful.” Ferdinand said in the video.

“I just think it’s really disrespectful given what my man’s won; there’s more to it than just that he’s made a couple of mistakes.

“If you look at the two games before [the Liverpool game] this season, he’s been arguably Man United’s best player. I think it’s easier to say that ‘he’s gone, he’s finished, he’s too old’.”

Ferdinand continued his defence of Casemiro, claiming that he’s being asked to do too much in the current Manchester United side.

“I just feel that he’s being asked to do a lot of things, like play 30-yard balls and dictate the pace of the game, etc. These are things Man United would’ve never recruited him for.

“He’d never been asked to do this at Real Madrid; he was cleaning up, security in front, slide tackling, covering all of the gaps, and then giving it to other people to play football.”

Casemiro’s wife responded to her husband’s harsh critics too, publicly defending him by posting an image of his glittering trophy cabinet on her Instagram story.

Despite this, the Brazilian could soon find himself warming the bench at Old Trafford, as United’s £50 million summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain, Manuel Ugarte, looks set to take his place in midfield.