Rio Ferdinand calls ‘golden child’ at Manchester United as main reason for Diego Forlan becoming ‘backup dancer’ and failing to shine at Old Trafford

Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Ruud van Nistelrooy's presence in the team was the main reason why Diego Forlan failed to shine at Manchester United. The former Red Devils defender labeled the Dutchman as the 'golden child' who would always make the starting XI regardless of Forlan's quality or performance during training.

Forlan joined United in 2022 from Argentine club Independiente, but struggled to hit the ground running. The prolific Uruguayan striker found himself in the shadow of Van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, with the Dutchman being Sir Alex Ferguson's main man upfront.

Speaking on his Rio Present Football podcast, Ferdinand gave his thoughts on why Forlan failed to blossom at Manchester United. He claimed that Forlan was always brilliant in training but would hardly get into the starting team because Van Nistelrooy was the manager's favorite, which affected his confidence.

“He was someone who was low confidence. He worked really hard in training. It’s almost like his Kryptonite was Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was like the golden child at the time at the club, and he was always going to be second backup dancer to him," Ferdinand said (via United in Focus).

He continued:

"We could see things in training, it makes you go, ‘Oh my god, wow. He’s got a chance. He’s a top player. There are things he had in his armoury. He was a cold finisher, left and right foot. He went on to win the European golden boot, like a ridiculous footballer in terms of movement.

“It reminds me a bit like Harry Kane in that he done rep after rep after rep. So when he got into position to score, everything looked like it was cultured. Everything looked like it was like precision. And there was a method to it. It was just like, I’ve done this so many times. You could see that practice coming out in the way he finished."

Burresing his point, Ferdinand added:

“I think it was Ruud… I think having someone like Ruud there, he knows he’s never starting, no matter what he does. He can come in and score a hat trick at Anfield and then go to the Etihad and score another hat trick next week. And if Ruud said he was fit, Ruud would play. We talk about players building confidence. It weren’t really there for him to do that."

Ferdinand, who joined United in the same season as Forlan, suggested that the Uruguayan should have taken a cue from Solskjær, who found a way to be instrumental for the side despite playing second fiddle to Van Nistelrooy during the same period.

“But again, then I would suggest then your mentality has got to be, ‘how can I support Ruud and be part of a squad? And I think like he needed to probably draw inspiration more. Don’t look at Ruud. Look at someone like Ole and go, where can I fit myself in this squad and draw confidence from? And someone like Ole probably would have been a better kind of reference point for him.”

Despite his early struggles at the club, Diego Forlan still achieved cult hero status at Old Trafford, particularly after scoring a late brace against rivals Liverpool for a 2-1 win in 2002. In 98 appearances, he registered 17 goals and eight assists and won one Premier League and an FA Cup with Manchester United.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney reveals he almost signed for PL rivals before switch to Old Trafford

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney recently disclosed that he was close to joining Chelsea before his move to Old Trafford. Rooney signed for the Red Devils in 2004 for a reported £27 million. However, Manchester United had to beat the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid for the signature of the then 16-year-old prodigy.

During a recent interaction with NBC Sports, the Englishman said Everton were keen on selling him to the Blues, who had planned on sending him out on loan. But he only wanted Manchester United.

"Everton wanted to sell me to Chelsea, and then they wanted to send me on loan to Middlesbrough, but I had no intention of signing for Chelsea," Rooney revealed (via Chelsea Chronicles).

Rooney's decision to join Manchester United turned out to be the right move as he flourished at the club, winning a plethora of titles and becoming their all-time leading goalscorer (253 goals and 172 assists in 559 matches).