Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand: We will make our fans proud in Champions League final at Wembley

Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United

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Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is confident that his side will avoid reliving their 2009 heartbreak when Barcelona netted twice to lift the Champions League Cup when the two teams meet at Wembley on Saturday.

Ferdinand admits that the defeat was such a blow that he could did not want to swap shirts with Barcelona players but he believes that this time, it will be a different.

He told News of the World: “Revenge is not the right word. But I do have regrets about that 2009 final defeat to Barcelona.

“I was gutted, devastated at the end of that game. Nobody likes to lose a cup final but it was one of the worst feelings I have ever had in my career.

“We just didn’t perform as we should have done last time. This time we have to give a better account of ourselves.”

Barcelona are favourites to win next Saturday’s rematch but United will be boosted by winning their record 19th Premier League title, which Ferdinand admits has given the team a boost.

“Winning the Premier League has definitely given us the confidence to take on Barcelona,” Ferdinand added.

“Winning titles does breed confidence. And the way we did it, being consistent at the business end of the season means we will go into this game on a high.

“Fingers crossed, we can complete the job. Barcelona may be regarded by many as the best team in the world at the moment and we know it will be tough.

“Obviously, they have Messi who, in my eyes, is one of the best two players in the world right now, along with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“How do you stop Messi? You can’t shoot him but it’s about stopping him getting the ball.

“However, if you stop him, they have David Villa. If you stop Villa, they have Pedro. If you stop
Pedro, they have Iniesta and if you stop Iniesta, they have Xavi.

“They have world-class players everywhere but then so do we. We know full well they have players who can hurt us but they also know we have players who can hurt them, too.

“We have Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Ji-Sung Park, Nani, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernandez, players who are match-winners for us.

“We will have our game-plan, we will have to work hard and concentrate on the job and we will have to take our chances.”

Playing at Wembley could give a crucial psychological boost to the Red Devils but Ferdinand is adamant that working hard will take them to the ultimate prize.

“I don’t think playing at Wembley gives us any advantage at all,” he added.

“The only advantage for us would have been if it was being played at Old Trafford.

“However, this is our third Champions League Final in four years and that in itself is a tremendous achievement.

“We have been very consistent and to win two out of those three finals would be superb, especially against this Barcelona side.

“I haven’t really thought about how it would rank in United’s history, whether it would match the achievements of the 1999 Treble-winning side.

“That is for others to speculate over. But I do know that I want to walk off the Wembley pitch next Saturday a winner.

“And my message to the United fans is this: Just know we’ll be going out there to make you all proud.

“We will be doing our utmost to win the Champions League and, if we do, we will all be celebrating together.”