Ferdinand responds to Man Utd fans singling out player as brutal banner spotted

05 November 2023 , 12:49

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Ferdinand responds to Man Utd fans singling out player as brutal banner spotted

Rio Ferdinand has laid into Antony after the winger was booed by his own fans in Manchester United's 1-0 win over Fulham.

United needed a late winner from captain Bruno Fernandes in added time to earn all three points at Craven Cottage, with some supporters booing Antony when he was taken off after 62 minutes and replaced by Facundo Pellistri.

Antony was signed for a whopping £82million by United last summer after impressing under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, but the Brazilian has struggled to make much of an impact at Old Trafford. In 54 appearances for the Red Devils, Antony has scored just eight goals and provided three assists.

So far this season he has failed to make a single goal contribution across all competitions and supporters voiced their discontent during the clash with Fulham. And when asked about the boos directed towards Antony after the game, United legend Ferdinand starkly compared his performance to that of veteran opponent Willian.

"You could smell the frustrations let alone hear it," Ferdinand told TNT Sports. "Listen, he's played 11 games this season with zero goals and zero assists, from an attacking player that's not good enough, that's the facts.

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"Today you've got to look at a 35-year-old on the opposite wing in Willian and if you didn't know their ages and career path you'd probably go Willian. You'd probably go Willian with what you're seeing right now.

"He has to improve dramatically. When (Marcus) Rashford's fit and comes back, which will hopefully be in the next game, it's (Alejandro) Garnacho scratching his head if Antony starts ahead of him.

Manchester United fans hold the banner during the warm-up (Getty Images)

"You have to have that competitive edge in a squad but if you're being kept out the team by a player, you want to know that player is producing the goods and getting some goals or assists or impacting the game.

"At the moment if Antony does come out the game I don't think you could argue." United fans also held up a banner that said "play like you mean it" ahead of the game, following disappointing 3-0 defeats to Newcastle and Manchester City in their last two games.

And United midfielder Scott McTominay admitted the players took note of the message, telling TNT Sports: "We saw the banner before the game, and a few of us said to the rest of the lads that these fans pay good money to come down and see us play. They support us every single week and we just want to repay them the best we can."

Matthew Cooper