Leny Yoro details ten-minute call with Man Utd legend that persuaded him to make Old Trafford move

Leny Yoro has explained how a phone call from Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand persuaded him to move to Old Trafford from Lille.

Yoro made the £52m switch to United from the Ligue 1 club despite interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool in what appears to be quite the transfer coup.

A report suggests he had little choice in the matter but the teenager has explained that Ferdinand played a big role in getting the deal across the line.

“This is Rio Ferdinand, this is a legend in Man United, so for me this is an honour. This is a big defender, a legend, so yeah, big honour for me,” said Yoro.

“It was like two weeks ago. He called me, so first of all I was really impressed to speak with him and yeah , we spoke like 10 minutes about Man United, so he helped me a lot to make my choice. So yeah, it was really an honour to speak with him.

“Yeah, he spoke to me about the club, and [that] this is a historic club with a big story, and if I go there I need to fight for the club, to be ready, because this is the biggest club in the world. So, yeah, for me it was really good to speak about this.

“When I was younger, Rio was one of the best defenders in the world. I think everyone watched United when he was young and, for me, it was a dream to play for this club,’ he added.

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Yoro was presented with a surprise pre-recorded video message from Ferdinand at his official unveiling.

“Leny, Leny, Leny! How you doing bro? Listen, congratulations. Welcome to Manchester United, man. I wish you all the best. I know you’re going to work hard and that’s the secret man: work hard, work hard, work, work, work on all your parts of your game,” Ferdinand said.

“You’ve got all the potential, you’ve got all the tools man, you’ve got everything there, ready to rock and roll to go and make a big impact at this club. It’s the best club in the world. It’s a beautiful place to be. Go and enjoy yourself man, alright, and I’ll see you soon. Good luck, good luck man. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Leny, Leny, Leny!” added Ferdinand.