MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand has admitted that his "most enjoyable football" came during his time at Leeds United.
The former England star moved to Elland Road from West Ham in 2000, spending two years in Yorkshire before departing for Old Trafford.
And while he won countless trophies as a Red Devil, Ferdinand, 43, still has plenty of nice things to say about rivals Leeds.
Speaking to BT Sport in 2020 after Leeds' first few outings back in the top flight, Ferdinand gushed about his time at Elland Road.
He said: "As much as there was a lot of talk about me going to Man United and it was emotional, for a lot of the fans it was difficult to accept.
"But I think in the long term it was proven that the reasons why I went were justified, but I probably had my most enjoyable football when I played here [at Leeds].
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"I loved it at West Ham but we didn’t win that much, I loved it at Man United, we won a lot but with that came a lot of pressure.
"So the enjoyment factor isn’t as free-spirited as it was when I was here at Leeds where we won a fair amount in terms of games, got to some good heights, Champions League semi-final etcetera, and there wasn’t that added pressure or expectations with it.
"We were a young squad, all good lads, all socialised together as well and I just had some fantastic times here, really enjoyed my football here, enjoyed my time, the people were great.
"Where I lived was fantastic so I’ve never had anything bad to say about Leeds. It’s always been somewhere that I’ve always appreciated at it was part of my journey.”
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Leeds succumbed to relegation two years after Ferdinand left for Manchester United.
But after 16 years of hurt they made it back to the big time and their former defender believed that they could take the league by storm.
Leeds had a successful return to the Prem as they finished in a remarkable ninth place after a year of swashbuckling football.
However, the club has endured some drastic changes since.
Long-term manager Bielsa was sacked last season after a poor run of results.
Former USA international Jesse Marsch took over as Leeds boss in February to help steer the club out of the relegation zone.
Despite being under new management, the Whites continued to play with the aggressive, high pressing and high intensity style that Bielsa implemented.
Ferdinand continued: "The way that Leeds are set up, the way they play, they’re going to outrun most teams physically, but tactically they seem like a team that’s set up very, very well and you can see that there’s a lot of work that goes in on the training ground when you get to matchday because they do ask teams a lot of questions, whether it’s tactically or physically."
Leeds currently sit ninth in the Premier League table after a mixed start to the season.
They have suffered defeats to Brighton and Brentford so far and shared points with Everton and Southampton.
But, they did earn an impressive 3-0 victory over Chelsea just three games into the campaign.
Read the full interview on btsport.com.
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