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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's nine-word dig at Rio Ferdinand back in Man Utd days revealed

Temporary Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is known for being one of the nicer characters in football.

But according to his former team-mate Ryan Giggs, the Norwegian isn't as nice as he appears in his role as Red Devils boss.

Roy Keane was Manchester United captain at the turn of the Millennium and was known for being vocal in his criticism of opposition players and his team-mates.

Solskjaer wasn't quite as aggressive as Keane, but the Irishman - and the other fiery characters at the club - reportedly rubbed off on the former striker, who once had a dig at Rio Ferdinand.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is known for being one of the nicer characters in football (AFP/Getty)

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The centre-back signed for the Red Devils from Leeds back in 2002.

He would go on to become one of the greatest defenders of his generation, but cost Manchester United a record £30million at the time.

During a training session, early into his United career, Ferdinand failed to control a long ball fired at him by Keane.

Solskjaer hit out: "Is this all you get for £30million these days?"

Rio Ferdinand signed for the Red Devils from Leeds back in 2002 (Getty Images)

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It is not known if Ferdinand responded, but according to Ryan Giggs, this sort of comment from Solskjaer wasn't entirely out of character for him.

Giggs told the Daily Mail: "See, he's not the nicest bloke in the world like people say he is and that's because we rubbed off on him.

Solskjaer played alongside Ferdinand at the turn of the Millennium (Reuters)

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"Ole was the nicest guy in the world until we got hold of him. When you got in that environment with us it was a tough school and you changed. You had to.

"That day with Rio we were just testing a new player and if Ole hadn't said it then someone else would have. That's what it was like. Every day. It helped us to win."

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