Rio Ferdinand names sold Man Utd player who should have had ’12 more years’ at the club

Rio Ferdinand has revealed he believes Man Utd should never have sold Jonny Evans in 2015, as he was their ‘best defender’.

Evans was sold by Louis Van Gaal in 2015 to West Brom for just £6m after coming through the ranks of the youth academy which he joined in 2004 before making his first-team debut in 2006.

The Northern Ireland international eventually made a shock return to Old Trafford after being offered a contract in the summer of 2023 after impressing whilst training with the club in pre-season.

The 36-year-old has made an impressive 26 Premier League appearances since rejoining his boyhood club, but speaking on his podcast ‘Rio Presents’ with Phil Jones, Ferdinand has stressed he should have never been sold.

“As soon as they sold him, I said, ‘Woah, who sanctioned this?’ He’s arguably your best defender, experienced as well. He’s experienced more than you [Phil Jones] and Chris Smalling,” Ferdinand explained.

“I was like, ‘You can’t let him go’. He understands the fabric of the club and if you’re thinking about keeping a culture you need people who know, who’ve been there and grown up at the club.”

Jones was also in agreement that Evans was too valuable to leave, adding: “I know how quality he is and the qualities he’s got he’s a top player.”

Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also shared his disgust with the sale of Evans back in 2021 ahead of United’s clash with Evans’ Leicester City.

“Jonny Evans should have been a Man United player now, of course,” Solskjaer boldly claimed.

Jonny Evans- Getty

The Norwegian stressed that players coming through the academy in the fashion Evans did need to be cherished.

“Local lads – I call them local lads (Evans originally from Northern Ireland), you know what I mean – we want to build our next youth team on players like Jonny Evans if you like,” he added.