Gary Neville could not resist passing comment on social media after learning his former Manchester United and England team-mate Rio Ferdinand was taking up a career in boxing.
The 38-year-old Ferdinand, who hung up his boots in 2015 after almost two decades in the Premier League, has agreed to take on Betfair’s ‘Defender to Contender’ challenge.
Ferdinand will train under former WBC super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall and compete in a series of fights with a view to a possible title bout.
Neville played alongside Ferdinand for nine trophy-laden seasons at Old Trafford, but the Sky Sports pundit made a jovial remark regarding the surprising news on Tuesday morning.
Hey @rioferdy5 when you're boxing does Vidic come in and take the punches whilst you cover round the back with me? 😉
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 19, 2017
He posted on Twitter: ‘Hey @rioferdy5 when you’re boxing does [Nemanja] Vidic come in and take the punches whilst you cover round the back with me?’
Ferdinand formed a formidable partnership with Vidic as United won the Champions League for a second time in 2008, and the former Serbia international developed a reputation as one of the Premier League’s toughest defenders.
Former West Ham and QPR centre-back Ferdinand has been putting the work in over the summer, posting a number of short videos calling out some of Britain’s best boxers – including David Haye and Anthony Joshua – on Instagram.
Ferdinand won six Premier League titles during a 12-year period at United, and he has since being working as a television pundit with the BBC and BT Sport.
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