Rio Ferdinand is refusing to admitted that Manchester United can win the Premier League over fears of becoming a “meme”.
The Red Devils have a huge opportunity to top the table when they take on Burnley in their game-in-hand over Liverpool, who they are sitting on 33 points with, before a match-up at Anfield.
It has seen several pundits suggest that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are in the race for their first league title in seven years.
But Ferdinand, who won six Premier League honours under Sir Alex Ferguson, is holding off for a good reason.
Speaking after the Red Devils’ FA Cup win over Watford on BT Sport , the 42-year-old said: “The highs are high, and the lows are lower than a snake’s belly. I don’t want to jump the gun like I’ve done before.
“I don’t want to become a meme again, but as a football fan, it’s part of it to become emotional, to get hyped up and get excited about things.
“United sitting pretty at the top, after the game against Burnley we hope, I’ll be excited 100 per cent.
“But then it’s a massive game after that against Liverpool to say we’re not just flybys, we’re here to stay.”
This refers to his reaction to United’s astonishing 3-1 Champions League win over PSG in 2019 that sent them to the quarter-finals.
Solskjaer was still the interim manager at the time, remaining unbeaten since his arrival in December.
And it saw Ferdinand react emotively in the BT Sport studio, saying: “Get the contract out, put it on the table, let him (Solskjaer) sign it and let him put whatever numbers he wants to put on there given what he's done since he's come in.
“Ole's at the wheel man, he's doing his thing, United are back!”
When United finished sixth in the 2018/19 season, though, it saw the former defender receive a backlash on Twitter.
While he is holding back on praise this season, the United hero did say the club are in a strong position.
He added: “[It's a] huge week, they win against Burnley and go top and put pressure on Liverpool.
“As quick as you can get there, you can fall away, Spurs and Chelsea were up there and fell down and people are saying it’s the end of managers in charge there… Ole’s experienced enough not to get too carried away. That’s living life at big clubs.”
It comes as Ferdinand has named the “unbelievable” Arsenal player he wished United had signed.
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