Rio Ferdinand reveals who was allowed to make fun of Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United centre back Rio Ferdinand has shed some light on who was allowed to make fun of Sir Alex Ferguson during his 27 years at the club.

Ferguson, who won a staggering 13 Premier League titles at Old Trafford, was known to give his players the hairdryer treatment when performances did not come up to scratch.

And Ferdinand, who played under the highly-regarded boss for 11 years, has revealed there was one member of the United team that could get away with joking with Ferguson – dinner lady Carol.  

Rio Ferdinand (L) has shed some light who was allowed to make fun of Sir Alex Ferguson (C)

He revealed there was one member of team that could get away with joking with Ferguson

‘Carol was a very funny lady. I loved speaking to her and having a laugh over a cup of tea at the training ground,’ BT +1 ambassador Ferdinand said.

‘She would treat everybody the same, academy players, Premier League champions or Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the biggest names in the history of football. She was the only one who could joke with Sir Alex.

‘I remember once he walked in wearing a smart pair of cream chinos as I was talking to Carol, she stopped our conversation and just said to him ‘what are you wearing?!’ which made us all laugh.’ 

That person was not a player but Ferdinand’s ‘Manchester aunt’ and club dinner lady Carol (R)

Ferdinand described Carol as his ‘Manchester aunt’ and recently rekindled their relationship in conjunction with the BT +1 initiative to urge people this Christmas to reach out to those they’ve lost contact with.  

As well as great top-flight success, Ferguson delivered five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League trophies.

Since his departure in 2013 United have been undergoing a major rebuild with David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho all tasked with bringing more success to the club. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the latest to try to live up to the expectations set by Ferguson.

For more information about BT’s +1 movement to beat loneliness visit: BT.com/plusone