Are Manchester United wrong to let Rio Ferdinand leave this summer?

In a summer where changes are a necessity at Old Trafford following Manchester United’s dismal campaign last year – which resulted in a seventh place finish in the Premier League and no European football to look forward to this coming year – many arrivals and departures on both the playing and staff side have already been made with more yet to come.

Within the last few weeks we’ve seen Louis Van Gaal start to mould his Manchester United team whilst still combining duties with the Netherlands squad in Brazil. This comes in the signings of youngsters Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw for a combined reported figure of £63m. But there was one departure during the summer which I think United might have missed a trick with; Rio Ferdinand.

Although Ferdinand may be coming up to his 36^th birthday in a few months time I feel he could still have played a big part at the club, in one capacity or another. Whilst having been at the top of the game for so long and acquiring a vast array of experience, this could’ve proved beneficial to the club seeing as his central defensive partner had agreed to join Inter Milan many months ago, meaning plenty of experience was gone from the club during one summer.

This currently just leaves Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones as recognised first team central defenders, a little light in that department. There is however potential star Michael Keane but he’d probably benefit more from having regular first team opportunities on loan at a Premier League club this season to aid his development.

Many will therefore feel that another central defender should be a priority via the transfer window to provide competition and make up the fourth, especially as Smalling and Jones have both failed to hold down a position within the first team. As the majority of the defence is also relatively young barring Patrice Evra, this is where Ferdinand’s experience could have been vital to the younger members of the squad whilst providing cover in emergencies, alongside a potential role coaching at the club.

Some may be thinking Ferdinand is past it due to his age but both Mario Yepes and Rafael Márquez have shown during this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil that age is but a number, with both performing brilliantly for their countries at 38 and 35 years old respectively.

This summer Ferdinand has been a part of the BBC team over in Brazil at the World Cup working as a pundit. It is quite clear to see from his short time providing punditry and match analysis that Rio knows what he is on about and provides great insight to the defensive elements of the game. Much like Gary Neville over at Sky Sports, but you’d expect nothing less from these players who have played at the highest level for the majority of their careers.

Not all great players will make great pundits, coaches or managers as history will show, but I think this is something that Ferdinand potentially has in his locker. As mentioned previously, Ferdinand’s experience could have really helped the younger members of the squad and he could have done a similar role to what Ryan Giggs did last year. In a player/coach capacity Ferdinand could still have played the odd match here and there whilst passing on his expertise to develop and aid other members of the squad.

If not coaching the first team squad then definitely helping out with the youth and reserve squads, much like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes have taken part in at some point. This is something that the Dutch are very adept at, getting their ex star players back involved with their clubs and taking part in various coaching roles to learn their trade and pass on vital experience. The club has already had a taste of this at the end of last season with Giggs, Scholes, Butt and Phil Neville all taking part in first team affairs during Giggs’ stint as manager.

Whether this is something that Rio would have considered if offered the opportunity is something to speculate about but as his career is at the latter stages maximum first team opportunities will be a high priority for him no doubt. As things stand it looks like Ferdinand is on the verge of signing for Queens Park Rangers, probably once his BBC duties are complete in Brazil. If this move goes ahead we’ll likely be seeing Rio back at Old Trafford this season but hopefully in the future back as part of the furniture again.

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