Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United made a mistake when they allowed Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernández and Rafael to leave.
All three were fringe players when Louis van Gaal got rid of them on both sides of the 2014-15 season. However, former teammate Ferdinand believes that everyone still had something to offer. In fact, Welbeck came back to bite United seven years after his departure. by scoring against them for Brighton on Sunday – although his former club still managed to win.
Welbeck, a United academy graduate, previously scored 29 goals in 142 appearances for the club. He’s had his fair share of injury problems since leaving, but he showed what he can still do when he’s in shape.
Meanwhile, Hernández spent four full seasons as a United player. In that time, he scored 59 goals in 157 games. Since then, he has played for Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla, while he is currently in MLS with the LA Galaxy.
And Rafael made the most appearances of any of the trio, with 170 in a seven-year span. He reached the Champions League semi-finals with Lyon last season and is currently at Istanbul Basaksehir.
While all three may be playing for smaller clubs now, Ferdinand believes they could still have been useful to Man Utd.
“I thought we had gotten rid of the good people of Hernández, Welbeck and Rafael,” Ferdinand told the FIVE YouTube channel. “They were good United people with character.
“They wanted to play for Manchester United and they knew what it meant, they wanted to win and they were part of that earlier era that knew how to win.
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“They could have taken it on and given it to other people. It was his turn and his chance to pass it on, but I thought Manchester United weren’t set up like they probably are today. They would not allow that to happen today.
“Welbeck embodied everything about Man Utd, he was a hard worker and understood what it meant to be a United player.
“He had quality, it could come from being on the bench and scoring. He also knew what it meant to be a squad player. When he was there to start, he produced the products.
“He used to judge players by how hard they were to train again and it was difficult to play against him. People would always say it was a nightmare to play against him because he doesn’t stop moving, he receives the ball well, he can run behind, he’s fast, he has everything.
“Maybe his finish wasn’t as clean as others to make him an elite player, but he was giving you enough to stay here. I had more than enough.
“I loved Welbeck when I was a footballer and a kid. It was great for the wardrobe. He was the kind of guy you wanted in the locker room, a boy with a pure heart.
“Danny Welbeck was the best forward on the field yesterday with his performance. He should never have been allowed to leave United. When he’s in shape, I’d take him over lots and lots of players.
“I think Rafael should have been allowed to stay at Manchester United. He could still be on the team if he stays.
Welbeck still has ‘affection’ for Utd
Speaking after scoring against them on the weekend, Welbeck admitted that he still cares for United.
“It is a club that I have a lot of affection for, which gave me the opportunity,” he said. “But once you’re on the field it’s 11 against 11, we want to score the points.
“You just have to be professional and do your job.”
On Brighton’s performance against his former club, he added: “Obviously very disappointed not to get all three points.
“The second half was not very good with the ball and we really didn’t create many chances. We needed to see the game. Some things worked against us. Today is a bit fierce, so it is difficult to accept.
“We played it well in the first half. In the second half it did not really materialize. We knew they would come up with something different.
READ MORE: Fernandes Says Manchester United Star Faces ‘Difficult’ Future But Predicts Big Things
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