Rio Ferdinand’s recent comments about Liverpool have been laughed off by a former Reds defender.
The ex-Manchester United captain claimed that Liverpool are "now behind” his old club after their performances this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side finished the campaign in third place in the Premier League and five points behind second-placed Manchester United, who went a fourth consecutive season without a single trophy.
While Liverpool were hampered by a relentless run of injuries to key players in several positions, United were largely untroubled by major absences as they posted the lowest points total for a second-placed Premier League team in five years.
The Reds also went on to win at Old Trafford for the first time since 2014 with a 4-2 win at the beginning of May.
Despite this, Ferdinand also went on to say that Liverpool will have “excuses” for finishing behind their old rivals.
"In the league we’ve got what we wanted, which was an improvement," Ferdinand told Goal last week.
“I think Man United at the end of last season finished 30-odd points behind Liverpool.
“Liverpool are now behind us and they’ll have their excuses and reasons why but the cold facts are that we have gained that much ground on them that we’ve gone past them this season.
“That shows vast improvement and we’re second in the league.
“By no means are we the finished article but I think at the beginning of the season if you’d said you’d finish second in the league from where we were I think they’d have snapped your hand off.”
Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol was informed of the comments made by Ferdinand, and immediately laughed them off.
Speaking on ESPN FC's Extra Time programme, Nicol said: "What a lot of rubbish! Fallen behind Manchester United…
"Seriously? Absolutely, what a lot of rubbish. My goodness."
