Rio could have been a Red

The United player was still at West Ham but Houllier could not afford the Hammers' asking price at the time. Instead he was sold to Leeds for £18 million, then onto United for £30 million last summer.

While there is no doubting Ferdinand's ability, I'm sure most Reds are happier with the current partnership of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz, who only cost £6.5 million between them.

Click here for LFC Online's original article from December 1999 (excuse the poor page design!)