Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has fired back at his ex-England teammate and Premier League rival Jamie Carragher after the Liverpool man called him “a clown” over his punditry last week.
As Ferdinand was offering up his opinion on BT Sport‘s coverage of the Milan derby in the Champions League last Wednesday, so too was Carragher over on CBS Sports and it would seem the two disagreed over the referee’s decision to overturn a penalty that was initially awarded to Inter.
Sat alongside his usual broadcast partners Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards, the now-retired defender said that anyone who watched the replay on VAR and still believed it was a penalty “must be a clown”.
Most awkwardly, it turns out his former clubmate Steven Gerrard was one of those people and although he backtracked on criticising Stevie G’s judgement, he doubled down on any fellow defender calling it a penalty by dragging Rio into the conversation.
As you can see, Carra said, “As a defender, we’ve got to try and stick together… I just felt some people were getting a little bit carried away” and after Richards jokingly pokes and asks him to “name names”, the 45-year-old willingly replied: “Rio Ferdinand, I’m happy to call him a clown”.
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Now, while we’d like to assume this was done at least in part for comedic effect — with all three of his co-hosts’ reactions, particularly Henry’s, certainly tickling viewers — it did feel a touch personal to single him out, specifically.
Reacting to the segment on his VIBE with FIVE podcast, Rio admitted he was surprised by the comments, noting that he is a “friend of the show” and that perhaps it was just a snidey little remark he knew would get clicks.
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Nevertheless, the 44-year-old went on to insist, “Every time I time I see him it’s all love” and that he “didn’t understand why he came with all the hostility”.
The fellow ex-pro turned pundit went on to add that “whenever we see each other it’s all cool”, adding, “he used to carry my boots when we were with England and stuff like that” — no doubt a little underhanded jab back.
Then musing on the potential reason why he might have said what he said, Rio noted that it came during “the [Premier League] Hall of Fame week” — when he was voted in and Carra is yet to be given the same recognition — insisting again that the usually get on otherwise.
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Either way, Rio says he’s “only got good energy for him” and that although he took it as “banter”, the way he delivered didn’t feel so jokey and that he’ll “need to check that energy” the next time the pair see each other.
You can watch Rio’s response to Carragher’s remarks and the rest of the episode in full down below:
Featured Image — CBS Sports (via Twitter)/ Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE (via YouTube)
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Man City stars Phil Foden and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw win 2024 FWA Footballer of the Year awards
Danny Jones
Manchester City stars Phil Foden and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw have made it another double for the Blues after picking up the men’s and women’s awards for the 2024 Footballer of the Year from the Football Writers’ Association (FWA).
The Man City forwards have arguably been the players of the season for their respective teams this year, with Foden enjoying the best statistical campaign of his career so far and ‘Bunny’ Shaw becoming the club’s record goalscorer back in March, surpassing women’s legend and Lioness Georgia Stanway.
With nearly 60 goal contributions across all competitions between the two of them and both sides looking very likely to lift the Premier League and WSL titles this month, it’s been an impressive performance both individually and as a team.
We reckon these won’t be the only awards they end up with this year.
Pipping one of the best players in the league to the post this year in the shape of Chelsea and England star Lauren James, the 27-year-old Jamaican striker told the FWA and the club: “I am very proud and privileged to have received this award and to be recognised in this way is a special honour.
“I want to also thank all of my team-mates. They provide me with the chances to score goals and I could not have won this award without them. I also owe such a lot to Gareth [Taylor, head coach], the rest of the coaching team and everyone else here at City.
It’s a pleasure to be part of such a special group. Many thanks to all who voted for me and to my fellow nominees. It means such a lot to have won this award. Hopefully, the side can now finish off the season in style and give everyone a special cause to celebrate.” Shaw is now recovering from surgery on a broken foot sustained against West Ham.
This is actually the second time that the club have mopped up both the men’s and women’s FWA awards, with Raheem Sterling and Nikita Parris achieving the same feat back in 2019.
Manager Pep Guardiola has once again been full of praise for his in-form forward ahead of Saturday’s league fixture against Wolves.
As for first-team talisman and England favourite himself, Foden added: “Being named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is a huge honour. I’m very, very happy to receive this award but I could not have done it without the help of my teammates.
“We have a very special squad of players at City, and I’m privileged to be a part of that group.” With two PFA Young Player of the Year awards to his name in 20/21 and 21/22 as well, the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ is no stranger to receiving this kind of recognition but this is undoubtedly his biggest nod yet.
The 23-year-old Foden won 42% of the members’ votes and is the fourth City player to pick up the award in four years, with Erling Haaland obviously storming the race last season. That being said, 2023/24 has well and truly been the year of Phil Foden.
Congratulations to both players on their very well-earned accolades and we’re keeping our eyes peeled on both of them ahead of a big summer for international football.
Manchester City reveals details around the first Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have released the first details surrounding their inaugural Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Campus.
One of the most important charities in the UK when it comes to male mental health and suicide prevention, Andy’s Man Club and even its logo alone have become a recognisable force for good over the past few years, and the significance of bringing it to such a big scale as City cannot be overstated.
The football club first announced the partnership back in February and has already been working closely with the non-profit organisation to promote better wellbeing amongst men, getting first-team stars such as defender John Stones to open up about his own experiences with mental health just last month.
With that in mind, the word is now out that Man City will be providing yet another location for groups to meet and crucially talk through Andy’s Man Club sessions, confirming details around their first meeting from next week onwards.
Set to kick off in the East Stand of the Etihad Stadium from 7-9pm on Monday, 13 May, Man City will not only help deliver a vital outlet for men in the East Manchester area but become just the latest in a long line of teams to back the regular support group.
Joining over 180 clubs nationwide – including the likes of Altrincham FC, Ashton United and Bolton Wanderers, just to name a few in the Greater Manchester area – Andy’s Mans Club is currently helping well over 4,000 men open up and combat their struggles through peer-to-peer sessions.
Founded by a group of nine blokes from Halifax back in 2016 to create positive change in men’s mental health, Andy’s Man Club now helps gather men aged 18 and over across the country every week throughout the year.
In alignment with other partnered clubs Andy’s Man Clubs across the country, attendees will be asked to arrive from 18:30 (UK) ahead of the 19:00 start time.
The sessions are free with registration or ID required and, more importantly, there’s no pressure to talk if you don’t want to. The first step is easy: just listen.
Just because it’s being held at City’s ground doesn’t mean you have to be a season ticket holder, have an official Cityzens membership to attend or anything like that, you can simply arrive via the East Stand reception (Door F) and join the session.
Attendees will be greeted on arrival by trained volunteers from Andy’s Man Club who will guide them through the stadium. With the club now on board, group sessions will be running at the same time every week (except bank holiday Mondays) with the first dates scheduled for the following nights this month:
Monday 13 May
Monday 20 May
Monday 3 June
Monday 10 June
Well done to all those involved in bringing Andy’s Man Club to Manchester City and the East Manchester community. We hope the sessions will help those going along as they have done for thousands of others.