Ferdinand To Thank Fanz

Rio Ferdinand is relishing a chance to say
farewell to the Manchester United fans after
joining Sunday's opponents QPR in the
summer.

The 35-year-old has revealed in an exclusive
interview with MUTV that he turned down the
opportunity to go on the pitch before the
friendly against Valencia because he feels it is
important to express his gratitude and then
play at Old Trafford.
It promises to be a strange experience for the
centre-back after almost 12 years of
distinguished service to the Reds but he is out
to upset Louis van Gaal's new-look team.

"It's nice to have an opportunity to come and
see everyone when I come up with QPR," Rio
said. "I went to the training ground over the
summer to see some of the dinner ladies and
the office staff that I’ve known for years and
who helped me along the way.
"Ed Woodward offered me the chance to come
down and do that [say goodbye] before the
pre-season game against Valencia but it didn’t
feel right for me to do that, it feels far more
natural for me to come back and play, give
everyone a wave and say 'thank you'."

Ferdinand feels the time was right to leave the
club in the summer after clocking up 444 starts
for the Reds since moving from Leeds United
in 2002.

"It's an old cliché, but the club is bigger than
everyone else and it’s so true," he admitted.

"There’s more to it than one player and I
understand that, I’m not selfish enough to think
that everything revolves around me and that I
deserve to stay at Manchester United.
Everyone has their time to leave and mine was
now."