“I spoke to him” – Rio Ferdinand claims Liverpool star wanted to join Manchester United before Anfield move

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has claimed Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara wanted to join the Red Devils before Jurgen Klopp's side swooped in.

After an injury-riddled start to life at Anfield following his transfer from Bayern Munich in the 2020 summer window, the 31-year-old has become a crucial part of Klopp's midfield three.

Thiago has been in majestic form in recent weeks. He played the full 90 minutes in the Reds’ previous five Premier League games for the first time.

According to The Mail, the Spanish international recorded more passes than the entire Everton team in his side's 2-0 Merseyside derby victory on Sunday. He also ran Manchester United ragged in the previous fixture four days earlier.

United were previously linked with the midfield maestro in 2013 when David Moyes had just taken over from Sir Alex Ferguson. The then-Barcelona player decided to join old boss Pep Guardiola at Bayern.

Ferdinand claimed Thiago was set to join his former club, and said on the Vibe With Five podcast, via the Daily Star:

“Yea, I spoke to him. He spoke perfect English, great guy. He wanted to come to United. But you look at him now and he could not be happier.”

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Manchester United legend claims key Liverpool man is a prime example of why players need patience

Following a pair of wins against their two greatest rivals, the Reds are still in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple this season. They are currently second in the Premier League, one point behind league-leaders Manchester City. Liverpool have already won the Carabao Cup this season and have made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup final.

Ferdinand has claimed Thiago is a prime example of why new arrivals in the league need to be given time. The former England defender stated:

“With Thiago, you could have probably gone to a huge, huge amount of the fanbase at Liverpool, and it would have said after last season, 'He isn’t good enough.' They may have said, ‘He ain’t the player we thought he was. Playing in the German league, slowing us down, let’s get him out.'"

“I saw ex-players and pundits, talking about getting him out as he doesn’t play the ball forward or that he was not ready-made for this league. Players need time, and it goes back to this thing with managers at Man United as well, the club needs to give managers at the club patience. Clubs and fans need to give players, ones from other leagues especially, patience.”