Rio Ferdinand has claimed that one former Manchester United defender was even better than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
For years, the Red Devils had one of the best teams in the world. Sir Alex Ferguson built sides that won him numerous trophies, and most of those players are fondly remembered by the fans to this day.
Ferdinand is definitely a Manchester United legend, but before he came into the picture, there was one defender who was among the best in the world.
Rio Ferdinand makes big Jaap Stam vs Virgil van Dijk claim
Manchester United signed Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven for £10.75 million in 1998 (BBC).
The Dutchman quickly became an integral part of the Red Devils’ back line. He won the Premier League and the Champions League in his debut season, and went on to win two more league titles in the next two years.
The brilliant defender played a total of 127 games for Manchester United in all competitions, 79 of which came in the Premier League.
Stam achieved the incredible feat of winning the Premier League title in each of his three seasons at Old Trafford.
He is still regarded as one of the best centre-backs to play for the club, and Rio Ferdinand seems to be a massive fan of him to this day.
The Englishman, in a video on Mail Sport, was asked to pick between Jaap Stam and a number of other world-class defenders who played in the Premier League.
Ferdinand remained adamant that Stam was better than the likes of Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, Chelsea legend John Terry, Tottenham hero Ledley King and Arsenal stars from past and present, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Kolo Toure and William Saliba.
When asked particularly about Stam vs Van Dijk, Ferdinand replied: “Jaap Stam!”
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What Sir Alex Ferguson really regrets about Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam had signed a five-year contract at Manchester United in 2001.
Everyone expected the Dutchman to stay at Old Trafford for years to come, but a shocking turn of events in the summer of that year changed everything.
Sir Alex Ferguson decided to accept an offer from Lazio for Stam to raise funds for other transfers. The legendary defender was sold that summer.
Years later, in 2013, Ferguson admitted that he made the wrong decision by selling Stam and went as far as calling it one of his big ‘disappointments’.
He said, as quoted by United in Focus: “When I think of disappointments, obviously Jaap Stam was always a disappointment to me, I made a bad decision there.”
