Rio Ferdinand calls out Gary Lineker’s ‘NONSENSE’ claims that Sir Alex Ferguson started Man United’s decline – and reels off the stats to prove it

Rio Ferdinand has hit back at claims Sir Alex Ferguson has been partly responsible for Man United’s decline.

United have endured a dismal 12 years since last winning the top flight in 2012-13 in what was Ferguson’s final season in charge of the club.

That triumph was United’s 20th English league title but the Red Devils fallen on hard times since, with their highest finish being second, while they have also regularly failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Under Ruben Amorim this season, United sit 14th, 14 points off the top four and their season rests on the Europa League after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Fulham at the weekend.  

Following that defeat, Gary Lineker claimed Ferguson is to blame for the start of United’s long decline, questioning the state he left the club in.

And speaking on talkSPORT on Monday, talkSPORT pundit and former Chelsea star Jason Cundy echoed Lineker’s calls – and implied that the makeup of the squad when Ferguson departed has been a key factor in United’s subsequent struggles. 

‘I totally agree with him,’ Cundy said. ‘When Sir Alex left, the squad that he left for David Moyes wasn’t a squad that was being built for years to come.’

However, fellow pundit Jamie O’Hara refuted Cundy’s claims and said: ‘You can’t blame that now.’

Cundy did admit that United’s struggles this season cannot be attributed to Ferguson, but he continued to ram home his point.

‘I agree not now, but it was the start of the decline in my opinion,’ Cundy added. ‘He left the club in such a… I felt the squad, he didn’t leave the club in an unbelievable state. 

‘Klopp left Liverpool in a far better position than Sir Alex left United in, that’s a fact.’

Cundy continued: ‘The squad was terrible, look at the back four. Three of the main back four all left within 18 months to 2 years. That’s not building a squad. 

‘(CEO) David Gill left and Woody (Ed Woodward) came in so when Gill left, Woodward was terrible. 

‘Part of that partnership that Gill and Sir Alex had was broken too then all of a sudden you’re bringing in Moyes and Ed Woodward.

‘Those two things are the reasons United declined and are in the position they’re in. You can’t keep leading back on that as a reason (for their struggles now) in my opinion (though).’

However, Ferdinand was quick to bite back at Cundy’s comments as he launched a furious defence of Ferguson’s squad building. 

‘Average age of the squad Sir Alex left was 26.6 years old. Blend of youth and experience,’ he posted on X.

‘Our attacking players were… Rooney (27), RVP (29), Chicharito (25), Welbeck (22), Zaha (20), Nani (26), Ashley Young (27), Lingard (20), Kagawa (24), Valencia (27), Januzaj (18).’

The former defender then shared a photo of United’s squad make-up on Transfermarkt and added: ’19 international players.’

Ferdinand also posted a table of United’s net spend at €1.27billion (£1.05bn) being the highest of several European clubs since the 2014-15 season.

‘Ps we won the league by 11 points…,’ he added. ‘Since then the recruitment have been poor. But I’ve read over the last few days it’s The Boss fault. What a load of nonsense….’

Meanwhile, speaking on Sunday, Lineker had suggested that Ferguson departed when United’s decline was inevitable and contrasted the bountiful inheritance Jurgen Klopp left for Arne Slot at Liverpool.

‘If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state,’ he said on the BBC. ‘So the structure is really good.

‘That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [time at Old Trafford]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. 

‘I think from there they had problems. The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before.’