Rio Ferdinand is one of the greatest defenders in both Manchester United and Premier League history. The former English international, capped 81 times for the Three Lions between 1997 and 2011, was signed by Manchester United in 2002 after plying his trade for West Ham United, Bournemouth, and Leeds United.
Ferdinand spent 12 seasons at the Old Trafford, winning 14 trophies, including six Premier League titles as well as the coveted UEFA Champions League in the 2007-08 season.
While the 45-year-old was a part of the Red Devils side that enjoyed incredible success both domestically as well as on the continental front (although not as much as they succeeded domestically), he also witnessed the rise of the other part of Manchester, Manchester City, during the final years of his career at the Theatre of Dreams.
Rio Ferdinand jokes about the iconic “Agueroooo” moment being deleted from the internet
In a video uploaded on Ferdinand’s YouTube channel ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE’ on 20th November, the former centre-back was joined by Joel Beya, Stephen Howson and special guest Aaron Lennon in another episode of ‘Vibe With FIVE’. The panel discussed a ton of topics, including the 115 charges against Manchester City regarding their breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules between 2009 and 2018.
Recently, Everton were handed a 10-point deduction to their current points tally after a three-man independent panel from the Premier League found out that the Toffees had breached the league’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
At the moment, City are the only other club to have charged by the Premier League of violating their FFP. Given the number of charges against the Manchester outfit, they could be hit with something much worse than the 10 points deducted from Everton’s point tally; City would be probably stripped off of all their titles between 2009 and 2018.
Now, Ferdinand claimed that the iconic “Agueroooo” moment should be removed from the internet completely.
City won their first-ever league title in the Premier League era during the 2011-12 season, when Sergio Aguero, the leading goal scorer in Sky Blues’ history, scored a winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time of the final matchday (against Queens Park Rangers) to get the three points and helped City clinch their first top-flight since 1967-68.
The Aguero goal is perhaps the most important goal in City’s history. City are a club without a big history. Right from the start of the 80s till the early 2000s, the club struggled to prevent relegation from the top-flight, even getting relegated to the third division of English football after finishing 22nd in the second tier in the 1997-98 season.
On the contrary, rivals United were running rampant in the first division year after year, while also enjoying occasional success on the continental front.
Aguero’s goal, given its significance and its place in the history of Manchester City, has had an incredible reach. It’s one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history as it catapulted the club to the top of the pile and kick-started a successful era at the Etihad, which we all bear witness to now.
Coming back to Ferdinand’s video, he asked Lescott to give him the Premier League medal if City are proven guilty of the charges against them. Ferdinand had to watch his team settle for the runners-up label at the end of the 2011-12 season, while Lescott was given the winners’ medal as he played for City back then.
Remember, if City are proven to be guilty, they could potentially be stripped of all their Premier League titles, with United then being crowned the champions of the 2011-12 season.
If, indeed, that does happen, the Aguero goal would not be relevant anymore. However, we should all be aware that Ferdinand was simply joking and be hypothetical about the entire situation.
Ferdinand wanting the “Agueroooo” moments to be wiped off the internet shows just how influential that goal was. As much as that goal ignited City’s surge to the top, it also paved the way for United’s dramatic decline.
