Rio Ferdinand Picks Nemanja Vidic Over Virgil van Dijk – But Heaps Praise on Liverpool Star

​Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has said that he would still pick Nemanja Vidic over Virgil van Dijk to play alongside, but heaped praise on the Liverpool star.

The United legend spent nine seasons playing alongside Vidic at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League trophies during that time and forming arguably the greatest centre-back partnership in Premier League history.

As reported by the ​Metro, Ferdinand was asked to choose between the two centre halves during a Q&A session on his Instagram Live, and there was only ever going to be one winner. "‘Prime Van Dijk or prime Vidic? Ooooh, good question!" he replied. 

"‘I’ve got to go with Vidic because he was my partner, man," Ferdinand continued. "He was my partner. He covered my back and I covered his. That was it."

Whilst it came as no surprise that Ferdinand showed loyalty in opting for his former ​Manchester United teammate, he did reserve praise for the 2018/19 PFA Players' Player of the Year Van Dijk.

Discussing the ​Liverpool centre half, Ferdinand said: "I love Van Dijk, don’t get me wrong. I love him. Best defender in the world now, definitely. I’d love to have seen him play in our time, seen what he was about. That would have been interesting. But top player."

Despite winning significantly fewer trophies than Ferdinand and Vidic, former Southampton defender Van Dijk is already considered by many to be one of the greatest centre-halves in Premier League history.

The Dutchman has been magnificent since joining Liverpool in 2018. He was instrumental in the club's Champions League victory last season, and has played every game of their current Premier League campaign as the Reds close in on their first league title for 30 years.

Source : 90min