'It would have been better' - Former England and Leeds United goalkeeper makes bold Rio Ferdinand claim
Former England goalkeeper Nigel Martyn has snubbed Rio Ferdinand when picking between some of his star-studded ex-Leeds United teammates.
Martyn, widely recognised as one of Leeds' greatest goalkeepers, made more than 200 appearances for the club during his time at Elland Road.
Alongside the likes of highly-respected pros such as Mark Viduka and Ian Harte, he was part of the Whites' side to reach the 2001 Champions League semi-final before being knocked out by Spanish giants Valencia.
While the fire-sale that followed, forced upon the club by financial problems, is well-documented, there is no doubting some of the talent amongst the aforementioned squad.
However, most would recognise Rio Ferdinand as one of the club's most talented defenders to ever play for the club, despite leaving for Manchester United in 2002. Ferdinand would go on to win six Premier League titles, one Champions League title, two League Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, and four Community Shields at Old Trafford, as well as captaining England and making 81 appearances for his country.
Yet, when asked to pick between Ferdinand and former Leeds captain Lucas Radabe, Martyn took a surprise decision which is bound to shock some supporters.
"Well, if you're talking Leeds United, it has to be Lucas Radabe because Lucas is just Mr Leeds," the 59-year-old explained.
"He's a legend. He's somebody who fellow players all love and respect. Lucas would be out there on the pitch playing with basically no cartilage in his knees. He was running, and he'd be in pain, but he would still go through it for his team. He would kick anything that moved. He was a brilliant man-to-man marker, and he did it with a smile on his face. He's just a lovely man, so I'm going to say Lucas.
"But no way am I trying to take away what a great footballer Rio Ferdinand was. I guess, if things had been different at that time, we would have seen more of Rio in a white Leeds United shirt, and that would have been better."
Martyn also offered his thoughts on the upcoming Premier League season, with many expecting the three promoted teams, including Leeds, to face a relegation battle.
He added: "You start every season with optimism. There are games that you probably can write off as not winnable. If you don't get a win, you understand, and you’re not too worried about that. It's just how you compete in those games.
"It's going to be the games against the teams in and around where you're likely to finish. So, probably the bottom two-thirds of the league. Those are the games that Leeds really have to focus on more than perhaps ones against the top six or seven. You know, any points you get against those teams are bonuses really.
"There are some new signings and there's some fresh blood to come into the team. I like the fact that Daniel Farke seems to be getting some bigger and stronger players in.
"You know, physically, I hope they’ll deal with that side of things a bit better than the last time we were in the Premier League. Although we had good players last time, I don't think physically they could cope with the Premier League. I think there have been some good acquisitions.
"I'd like to see a striker and somebody who's going to get somewhere between 12 and 18 goals in a season come in. We need to be strong defensively and add a big threat at set pieces, those are the bonus goals, which can mean you stay up or go down.
"You need to work really hard on both defensive and offensive set-pieces, but if you have those imposing players and a big goalkeeper, it makes things a lot easier."
Nigel Martyn was speaking via Parimatch, the new official sleeve sponsors of Leeds United men’s first team. Find out more about their exciting fan initiatives and win tickets to Leeds United home games this season by visiting https://parimatch.co.uk