Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand still believes the Red Devils are trailing the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea in the pursuit of Champions League glory.
City and Chelsea contested the final of the competition last season, with the latter eventually coming out on top 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz's goal.
It was Chelsea's second European Cup success, having won the trophy in 2012, while City are still awaiting their first Champions League win despite the significant investment into the playing staff in recent years.
Speaking after United suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Young Boys in their first Champions League game of the 2021-22 season, Ferdinand suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side still have a fair why to go to catch the likes of City.
"I would put City and Chelsea above Man United right at this moment in time, it could change," said the former centre-back on BT Sport.
"Chelsea look like a team capable of pulling results out at any given time. City have the experience as well of winning things but Man United are the least experienced of the four [English] teams and least amount of understanding of how to win trophies."
Pep Guardiola 's City get their Champions League campaign underway on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium against RB Leipzig and having come so close to glory last season, they will be among the big favourites again.
After losing to Tottenham Hotspur in Week 1 of the Premier League season, City have recovered well. They're now on a three-game winning streak, having beaten Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester City without conceding a goal.
United will have to make up ground in their group if they are to challenge their Premier League rivals on the European stage.
After Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring early on against Young Boys, it appeared as though the Red Devils would saunter to a win in Switzerland. However, a red card for Aaron Wan-Bissaka before the interval and a mistake from Jesse Lingard in stoppage allowed the hosts to complete a shock turnaround.
