Rio Ferdinand has revealed he ‘hated’ Steven Gerrard while the duo were playing for England in what was a failed era for the national team.
The former Manchester United defender played for the Three Lions between 1997 and 2011, while Gerrard donned international colours from 2000 to 2014.
Though the era was deemed a somewhat golden generation, they failed to win a single trophy in the period, which also included the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and a group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup.
Players such as Gerrard and Ferdinand, as well as the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Frank Lampard enjoyed vast success with their clubs, but failed to take that onto the international stage.
Since, it has emerged that the reason was because they didn’t all get on. It is understood that club rivalries got in the way – something that is now a thing of the past.
And Ferdinand has revealed the true extent of what the team chemistry was like. Speaking to the Times, he said: ‘Steven Gerrard didn’t like me and I didn’t really like him. There was hate between us and our teams (Manchester United and Liverpool). But we’ve put that all to one side now.’
Rio Ferdinand (fourth right) has revealed he ‘hated’ Steven Gerrard (left) during their days playing for England together
They have sicne put their troubles behind them and accepted club rivalries got in the way of international success
Gerrard spoke to Ferdinand on his YouTube channel Rio Ferdinand Presents last year and opened up on the national camp during their time together.
He was frank in his assessment, saying: ‘I think we were all egotistical losers. Because I watch the telly now and I see (Jamie) Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes on this fan debate and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years.
‘And I see Carragher’s relationship with Gary Neville and they look like they’ve been mates for 20 years. I’m probably more close and friendly with you now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years.
‘So why didn’t we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry? Why are we all mature enough now and at stages in our life where we’re closer and more connected now?
‘Why couldn’t we connect as England team-mates back then? And I think it was down to the culture within England that we were all never connected. All in our rooms too much. We weren’t a team.’
England had a number of different managers try to bring success to the national side in that era, with Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson all trying and failing.
Gareth Southgate, who was appointed in 2016, also failed to win anything but worked hard on team culture – something Thomas Tuchel has taken into his current role too.
Ferdinand said of the current group: ‘If we’re going to win the World Cup, then Harry Kane has to be playing well. Declan Rice knits things together on and off the pitch. Jude Bellingham gives us a chance because he’s a big-moments player. A fit Bukayo Saka can win us games.
‘We’ll need a lot of luck to win it. The weather is going to be a huge thing for us to overcome. But we’re well equipped to go deep in the tournament.’
