“We probably argued once every two or three games” - Rio Ferdinand labels Wayne Rooney as his worst-ever teammate at Manchester United

Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has surprisingly labeled Wayne Rooney as his worst-ever teammate despite playing with him for club and country.

Ferdinand appeared on rugby legend Rob Burrows' SEVEN podcast on BBC Sport (via DailyMail) and gave insight on his fiery, yet positive relationship with Wayne Rooney. The defender revealed he always expected more from his striker.

"The worst team-mate I probably had the most arguments with Wayne Rooney to be honest with you. Never came to blows, it was on the pitch. I knew what he was good at and I knew he could do more. I’d want him to be more effective or something.

"We probably argued once every two or three games, effing and blinding, screaming at each other because I wanted more from him."

Rio Ferdinand then went into detail about Rooney's pure footballing talent, explaining how he loved being involved with playmaking.

"We played one season and he scored 30-something goals and he wasn’t happy because he wasn’t getting involved in the game and dictating it, he was having to play high. And I couldn’t get my head around it. That’s the top striker, I want you to be that because I know you can be that."

However, Ferdinand concluded by giving Rooney his flowers and also mentioned their arguments would mostly be for one another's betterment on the pitch.

"He loved football that much he wanted to play football like he was playing in the park, and we used to argue, I’d tell him to shoot and he’d scream back at me. But they were good arguments. I wanted him to score 30 or 40 goals a season, because he could."

Rio Ferdinand made a total of 455 appearances for Manchester United, scoring eight goals and providing nine assists, and was part of a formidable backline alongside Nemanja Vidic.

Rooney, on the other hand, played 559 games for the Red Devils, scoring 253 goals and providing 145 assists. He ended his career at Old Trafford as the club's all-time top scorer.

The pair played together for Manchester United between 2004-14 and won several major honors together, including five Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy.

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Manchester United crash out of the Champions League

Manchester United fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in their final group stage game in the Champions League on Tuesday, December 12.

This result meant they finished bottom of Group A with just four points from six games. Bayern and FC Copenhagen qualified for the knockouts, while Galatasaray finished third and will enter the Europa League knockouts draw.

Erik ten Hag's team also created an unwanted record in the process as they matched Manchester United's previous worst finish, also bottom of their group, back in 2005-06 (via Squawka).

In doing so, the club became the first-ever from the Premier League to finish bottom of their UCL group on two separate occasions.