Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was caught in an awkward encounter with Man City icon Yaya Toure as the pair reunited acquaintances during the 2026 World Cup draw.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw caught plenty of attention – as fans around the world tuned in to discover which nations would be facing off for the ultimate prize in international football.
It was an evening filled with plenty of surprises – many of which came under-fire from spectators – who were left baffled by how long the draw took, along with many different segments planned out by Gianni Infantino.
Among many of the huge calls on the evening was the decision to place former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, as one of the main hosts for proceedings, as he took centre stage for the key moment.
The ex-England international summed up proceedings, explaining why certain teams were drawn out in particular groups due to the way the draw rules work.
Between each pot being drawn, Danny Ramirez was in the crowd speaking to former footballers who featured at the top of the game, which included former Manchester City star Yaya Toure.
The ex-midfielder was asked about the draw for Ivory Coast, before Ramirez made an awkward point about Toure and Ferdinand in front of the crowd.
He said: “I know you and Rio, you used to play for rival clubs. Are you guys friends?” to which Toure replied: “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Ferdinand seemed a little less pleased with the line of questioning, as he responded: “Haha, what you trying to do here Danny? I know you’re trying to get in the middle here, what are you doing?”
Ramirez said: “I’m trying to start it up,” before Ferdinand continued: “But I haven’t really forgiven Yaya for that 2012 title race where they took it off us but it’s fine… I’m over it man, come on, let me live man.”
It rounded up an awkward reunion for the pair, who had quite a few meetings in their time in the Premier League against each other.
Ferdinand faced off with Toure 12 times during his career – winning three, drawing twice and losing seven times, showing who got the better of that rivalry – three of those meetings were when the midfielder was at Barcelona.
The 2011/2012 Premier League title race is clearly still a sore point for those United players who were involved in such an intense race to the finish line.
It was United who were leading the race at the top, having sealed a win over Sunderland, before Sergio Aguero’s famous last-gasp winner secured the title for City in the final day.
It broke hearts for the red half of Manchester, while it became a memorable one for the blue half.
