Rio Ferdinand has recalled the high praise given to former QPR loanee Ravel Morrison, when Sir Alex Ferguson called him 'the best kid you'll ever see'.
Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand recalled a conversation between Sir Alex, Wayne Rooney and himself as Morrison burst onto the scene at Manchester United's youth academy, and discussed why he failed to live up to his high billing.
Ferdinand explained: "I was at the club when he was there; he's probably the most naturally gifted young kid I've ever seen.
"I remember Sir Alex (Ferguson) pulled me and Wazza (Wayne Rooney) over and said take a look at this kid, he's better than you, Wayne, when you were a kid, better than you, Rio and better than Ryan Giggs.
"He said 'this is the best kid you'll ever see'.
"He used to take liberties with players in training. He used to come with the senior players, even as a 16-year-old and take liberties. He's take one touch, take two touches, weave his way through a team of players and he never fulfilled that (potential). The concentration levels to be a top, top player that you need every day, he could never get that all married together.
"The team he played in; Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Adnan Januzaj; they looked at this guy like he was a superhero, because he was that good with what he could do with a football."
Asked whether he tried to help him, Ferdinand said: "Of course, I tried to help him.
"I tried to reach out to him but sometimes some people, they're in a position where they distance themselves from people when they leave the club and what they get up to away from the football club affects what happens on the pitch, because if you've got bad habits off the pitch then it'll affect your performances on the pitch."
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