Rio Ferdinand names four players Man Utd should never have sold

 Rio Ferdinand has slammed Manchester United’s recruitment since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and criticised the club for selling four players.

United have suffered a huge and alarming fall from grace since Fergie walked away in 2013 and currently find themselves just 16th in the Premier League table.

Poor performances on the pitch have been mirrored by questionable decisions off it, with billions worth of talent coming and going from Old Trafford.

A number of incoming signings have failed to deliver but Ferdinand believes some questionable sales have been just as damaging to Manchester United.

The ex-England defender was particularly disappointed by United’s decision to sell strikers Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez and full-back siblings Rafael and Fabio da Silva.

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Welbeck came through Manchester United’s academy and was closing in on his 150th first-team appearance before being sold to Premier League rivals Arsenal in 2014.

The former underwhelmed for Arsenal but has enjoyed arguably the best period of his career in his 30s and Ferdinand believes he would still be starting for his boyhood club United.

Hernandez was a consistent performer during his five-year spell at Old Trafford and helped Fergie win two Premier League titles before the Mexico goalscorer was moved on in 2014.

Brothers Rafael and Fabio da Silva were also sold shortly after Ferguson’s retirement in decision that also left Ferdinand scratching his head.

Discussing United’s transfer strategy in recent years, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: ‘There’s players I would have kept.

‘Danny Welbeck, Chicharito, Rafael de Silva, Fabio de Silva. Has anyone come into those positions and done better than what they would have done?

‘There’s no full-backs who have come in and done much better than Rafael or Fabio.

‘When I heard we were letting Chicharito go, I thought, “what am I hearing here?” When I heard him and Welbeck were going, I couldn’t believe it.

‘I was like, “What? Why?“ Those were great squad players but could have become starters when a few of the bigger and older players were leaving.

‘The generation was changing and I could see a place for them at the club.

‘You’re letting Chicharito go when he’s scoring mad amount of goals on a regular basis, Welbeck is impacting games with and without the ball. Look at Welbeck now, what United would do to have him in the team now.’