Get the day's biggest United stories delivered straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Rio Ferdinand has revealed he desperately tried to stop Paul Pogba leaving Manchester United.

The former England international says he knew the 22-year-old would develop into the best player in the world - and was determined to convince him that his future remained at Old Trafford.

But Pogba’s frustration over his lack of first team opportunities under Sir Alex Ferguson ultimately saw him move to Juventus in 2012.

He has gone on to win three Serie A titles in Italy and is in Saturday’s Champions League final.

Ferdinand said: “When he started talking about leaving United I decided to take matters into my own hands and pulled him aside to give him the hard word.

"I desperately wanted Paul stay at Old Trafford and asked him what the hell he was doing.

“I told him that everything he needed was right there and that his time would come. But he wasn’t having it, he had to play and felt he should be playing and had made up his mind to go.

“I knew if he left it would come back to bite United on the backside.”

MORE:

Writing in his column for the Sun, Ferdinand added: “I would confidently predict that, provided he stays injury-free, Pogba will be the World Player of the Year within the next four years.

“He always had the skills and show at United that he was tough too.

MORE:

“Paul Scholes used to kick him in training all the time going at him like he was to hack a tree down, but Pogba kept getting back up.