“I’m not having it” – Rio Ferdinand blames ex-Manchester United teammate for allowing Ronaldo to score hat-trick against him
Rio Ferdinand has blamed former Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for Ronaldo Nazario's hattrick at Old Trafford. He believes two of the three goals were easily stoppable if the Frenchman was in the proper position.
Ronaldo scored a stunning hattrick at Old Trafford but could not help Real Madrid win the game. David Beckham scored a brace later in the game to seal a dramatic 4-3 win for Manchester United, but that was not enough for them to make it to the semifinal as they lost 5-6 on aggregate.
Speaking in a video released by BT Sport on their Tiktok account, Ferdinand was rewatching the match when he questioned his former teammate Barthez. He said about the first goal:
"It's not a great goal. It ain't. I don't care. He knows what he's against, he knows he's got to take it early, and he does. Barthez, he can only go in the near post. I've got him where I want him, going away from goal. He can only go near post… Fabien? Fabien, man! We need to go back over this."
Ferdinand took responsibility for the second goal, where he failed to follow Ronaldo's run and gave the Brazilian an easy tap-in. However, he was furious with Barthez for the third goal and said:
"A great run. He's in the six-yard box. There's no defender within touching distance. My fault, man. I take that. It was me. I take that. We're dropping off. I've got to get up. I've got to squeeze the play a bit. But… Fabien, what are you doing?! I'm not having it. Fabien's on his six-yard box, by the way. He's been lobbed. I weren't the same player. We won the league, but I weren't the player I became."
Manchester United vs Real Madrid was a classic in 2003
Manchester United went into the second leg at Old Trafford knowing they needed a 2-0 to make it to the semifinal after losing 3-1 at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg. However, things changed 12 minutes after kickoff as Ronaldo scored to make it 4-1 on aggregate.
Real Madrid looked set to keep their lead at halftime, but Ruud van Nistelrooy scored 2 minutes before the whistle to level things up on the night. Dramatic 14 minutes at the start of the second half saw Ronaldo complete his hattrick, but an own goal by Ivan Heluera between the two by the Brazilian saw Manchester United stay within touching distance at 3-2.
David Beckham scored twice in the 71st and 85th minute to help Manchester United win 4-3 on the night. However, they lost 5-6 on aggregate and could not make it to the semifinal.