Premier League Rumors: Ferdinand Recalls Moment When Was Tempted To Leave For Barcelona

Rio Ferdinand will always be known as one of the iconic names over to play for Manchester United. He hardly had qualms in his 12-year stay, a pillar on the defensive end that resulted in numerous titles for the Red Devils. Given the success he had at Old Trafford, it comes a bit of a surprise why no other teams tried to pry him away from United. However, it turns out that there was a fleeting moment although he admits it made little sense.

This happened in 2008 when United was playing Barcelona. In an interview with BT Sport, he recalled how Barcelona was able to touch base with him and he listened to what Frank Riijkard had in mind. But with the success he was having with the Red Devils, it made no sense for him to move out and join Barca.

"It came close. There were discussions with my agent, Barca had touched base. I'd spoken to Riijkard, not about going there but he made his feelings known," Ferdinand said.

Ferdinand admitted that playing abroad was something appealing to him. But the problem there was that he was performing very well on the home shore. And considering he was playing for a great team like Manchester United, he had little to no reason to even entertain such a move.

"The problem with me going abroad, I always said I definitely wanted to go abroad and play, but the only thing that would ever have stopped me was if I was successful on home shores and I was lucky and fortunate to find a great club in Manchester United where it was going to be almost impossible for me to leave," Ferdinand explained.

The decision to stay with United paid off for Ferdinand. They went on to become European champions, giving him further reason to stay put. Though talented and powerful as Barcelona was, he explained that Lionel Messi, Xavier Hernandez Creus, and Andre Iniesta were not at their prime yet before.

Riijkard would eventually be replaced by Pep Guardiola before the 2008-09 season. The move paid dividends, including a 2-0 Champions League final win over Manchester United. And from there, it appeared the Catalans had the Red Devil's number, Goal.com reported.

Would it have made a difference if Ferdinand made the big switch? There would have been varying cases. One of them is the change in manager. There was no assurance he could fit in with Guardiola's system seeing it was Riijkard who was pursuing him then.