Rio Ferdinand has told Donny van de Beek that his nice attitude may have limited his chances for Manchester United.
Van de Beek has yet to showcase the talents fans saw at Ajax and led to United splashing £35million in 2020.
The Dutch midfielder has started two the team’s 10 games all season and has been handed a measly 5 minutes as a substitute in the Premier League.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed Van de Beek throwing his chewing gum towards the technical area at Old Trafford when Fred and Jesse Lingard were chosen to come on ahead of him in United’s 2-1 victory over Villarreal in the Champions League last month.
Solskjaer then told the media that he understands Van de Beek’s frustrations and that he has “has never affected his team-mates negatively.”
He added that should that change for any United player, he will be a lot firmer and Ferdinand believes that the midfielder wasn’t as nice, things may have played out differently.
“I think the big thing with Donny van de Beek – and he’s a great guy, we’ve had him on the show before – he’s a really calm, relaxed guy,” Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube show.
“I think this is a funny situation because if he was a bad guy and he was volatile and he was loud, he’d be gone. He wouldn’t be at Man United.
“And sometimes when you’re too nice maybe, or you’re nice about a situation and you’re polite, you might not get the situation that you really require for yourself. And I think that’s probably the problem for someone like Donny van de Beek.”
Van de Beek has been an unused substitute in United’s last three games since starting in the 1-0 defeat against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup.
And Ferdinand believes this entire experience can only help Van de Beek in the long run.
Revealing a conversation the pair had recently, Ferdinand said he told him to keep going and use this experience as a motivation tool.
"It’s crazy because I saw him the other day, I spoke to him.
"I said to him: 'Regardless of what happens man, just work hard' and I think he said that on the show.
"And I said to him: 'These experiences are what build people, they build you as a human being but they build you as a player: the character, the personality. And I think in time you’ll look back and think that made me stronger.'
"He will never see it now, but he’ll look back and go: 'You know what, that helped make me get stronger' and he can use this to fuel him and push him on in the next phase of his career when it comes."
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