Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was upset by Sir Alex Ferguson's captaincy snub

Rio Ferdinand (R) won 6 Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has spoken about his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, revealing that he was upset at being overlooked for the captaincy, as per a report on CNBC. Ferdinand was brought to Old Trafford from Leeds United by the Scot for a then British record fee of £30 million in 2002.

The ex-England international enjoyed a 12-year stay with United before ending his career with Queens Park Rangers. Ferdinand won six Premier League titles with the Red Devils and lifted the Champion League title in 2008 as stand-in captain.

The centre-back was never handed the captaincy on a permanent basis and when Gary Neville returned to fitness, Ferdinand was stripped of the armband. He has revealed that he was annoyed with Ferguson’s decision and has questioned whether he was being undervalued by the former manager.

“Sometimes there's situations during your career you think, 'Am I getting the credit I feel I deserve?' But, at the same time that is one of the things that maybe pushed me on to keep improving year in, year out, to sustain and stay at that level for all them years,” he said in an interview.

“I think I needed, as a person, for something to try and get to and grasp onto.

“If I had everything at one time, it might have been detrimental to my growth, maybe.”

Vidic and I were never given enough credit: Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand (L) and Nemanja Vidic (R) formed one of the best defensive pairings in Premier League history

Ferdinand and Serbian centre-back Nemanja Vidic formed a rock-solid defensive partnership in the mid-to-late 2000s. Although the former Leeds player arrived at the club much earlier than Vidic, Ferguson preferred to pick the latter as Neville’s successor.

The 36-year-old has also confessed about Ferguson’s management style, stating that it was tough to work under him and has insisted the Scottish manager would rarely credit him after a good performance. However, following his retirement from football in May, Ferguson had given his reasoning.

“Ferguson was very much on your case at all times,” he said. “He was very much about personalities and working out you as a person.

“I used to feel I was never given enough credit when I was playing under him. Me and Vidic used to talk about it quite a lot.

“He spoke to me and said: 'Your personality, if I had given you too much credit you might have gotten carried away, when you were younger, especially.’"