New Delhi [India], July 22 : Manchester United's latest signing, Leny Yoro, revealed that former club legend Rio Ferdinand played a big part in his move to the Red Devils.
Last Friday, Yoro completed his move from Ligue 1 side Lille on a contract that will run until 2029. A day later, he made his United debut in Edinburgh, Scotland, in a 2-1 win against Rangers FC.
He played the first half against Rangers and helped head coach Erik ten Hag's team record their first pre-season win of 2024/25.
The young French defender revealed that Ferdinand convinced him to join the Red Devils and told club media, "It was like two weeks ago [when I first spoke to Rio]," Leny explained. "He called me. First of all, I was really impressed to speak with him and, yeah, we spoke for like 10 minutes about Man United, so he helped me a lot to make my choice. It was really an honour to speak with him."
"He spoke to me about the club, and that this is a historic club with a big story, and if I go there I need to fight for the club to be ready because this is the biggest club in the world. For me, it was really good to speak about this," he added.
During the interview with the club media, Yoro was shown a video message from Ferdinand, who is regarded as one of the great defenders in United history. The former English centre-back made 455 appearances in 12 trophy-laden years at Old Trafford.
"That's crazy! When I was younger, Rio was one of the best defenders in the world," continued the 18-year-old. I think everyone watched United when he was young, and for me, it was a dream to play for this club," he said.
After impressing on his debut, Yoro and Manchester United will return to action against Arsenal on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, California.
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