Rio Ferdinand blasts Louis Van Gaal for selling three Manchester United players

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has slammed Louis Van Gaal for selling three players while he was in charge of the club. The Dutchman was in charge of Manchester United from 2014 to 2016.

Van Gaal's clear-out at Old Trafford included the likes of Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa, Alexander Buttner and Wilfried Zaha, who left Manchester United for a combined £38m.

Rio Ferdinand admits he's still annoyed that Man United allowed Danny Welbeck to leave - https://t.co/IUsQ26ZDyx pic.twitter.com/sv9erOwEgG

— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) February 14, 2016

French full-back Rafael and Javier Hernandez also saw their stay at Manchester United come to an end during the Dutchman's reign.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has now criticised the Dutch head coach, claiming he made mistakes with the sale of three players in particular.

Speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel (via Mirror), Ferdinand said:

"I thought we got rid of good people in Hernandez, Welbeck and Rafael. They were good United people with character. They wanted to play for Manchester United and knew what it meant. They wanted to win and they were part of that previous era that knew how to win."

"They could have carried that on and given it to other people. It was their turn and their chance to pass it on. But I thought Manchester United wasn’t set up in the way that they probably are today. They wouldn’t allow that to happen today," added Ferdinand.

Ferdinand lauds former Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck

Manchester United v Aston Villa - Premier League

Manchester United academy graduate Danny Welbeck completed a £15m move from Manchester United to Arsenal back in 2014. His stint with the Gunners was an unproductive one as he was often out injured or simply played second fiddle to other strikers at the club when fit.

Currently playing at Brighton and Hove Albion, the 30-year-old has rejuvenated his career. Welbeck has scored two goals and provided one assist in his last three games and has been instrumental in the Seagulls' push to beat the drop.

Danny Welbeck loves scoring against his former club 😬 pic.twitter.com/TT8HMJeNFv

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 4, 2021

Former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand heaped praise Welbeck and revealed that the striker was even hard to play against in training.

"Welbeck epitomised everything about Man United. He was hard-working and he understood what it meant to be a United player," said Ferdinand. "He had quality, he could come in from being on the bench and score."

"I used to judge players by how hard they were to train and he was hard to play against. People would always say he was a nightmare to play against because he doesn’t stop moving. He receives the ball well, he can run behind, he’s quick, he’s got everything," added Ferdinand.