Rio Ferdinand speaks to the Manchester Evening News about Man United's quest to progress in the Champions League and how Sir Bobby Charlton inspired him.
There's a scene in Martin Scorsese's reflective gangster epic The Irishman where Joe Pesci places a ring on Robert de Niro's finger and emphasises its momentousness: "Only three people in the world have one of these."
Charlton had just congratulated Ferdinand, stood at the back of the queue as he braced himself to jointly hoist the trophy with Ryan Giggs. Ferdinand recalled Charlton's words when he discovered the titan of English football had passed away on Saturday. "It was just a moment to reflect on the importance of what this means as a Man United player, as a Man United squad, as a Man United captain, what that means for this football club, what this means for the fanbase. It was a time to really reflect at a time in my life when I wasn't doing much reflecting."
"And you think to yourself, this fella could quite easily retire, sit with his feet up and just chill going over the memories of winning the European Cup and the World Cup and just enjoy life. He was just so committed. That commitment and work ethic was inspirational to us, as players, on a daily basis. He was always present and always there."
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