Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has yet to delete a post on X containing a fake match screenshot – despite fans pointing out the glaring errors in the image he shared.
The former England defender, now a prominent pundit, had been making a point about Wayne Rooney’s greatness when he posted the doctored image to his 3.5 million followers.
Ferdinand had been promoting an interview with Rooney on his podcast and argued that the former United captain should not be compared to other Premier League forwards.
“Do not compare this animal to the likes of Kane, Shearer & them mans pls… Most Complete CF in Premier League History,” Ferdinand wrote.
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To underline his point, he uploaded a mocked-up image that appeared to show Rooney scoring a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League in 2010.
The problem? Rooney actually scored twice that night, with Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher netting the other two goals in the round of 16 second leg at Old Trafford.
The image also showed AC Milan players in a red-and-black kit that was never worn that evening – they played in their black away strip.
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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has yet to delete a post on X containing a fake match screenshot – despite fans pointing out the glaring errors in the image he shared
|PA
To make matters worse for Ferdinand, he was in the starting XI that night alongside Nemanja Vidic, making it even more surprising that he didn’t spot the inaccuracy before sharing it.
Fans were quick to call out the mistake in the comments, but at the time of writing, the 46-year-old has yet to delete the post or issue a clarification.
The blunder has gone viral, with supporters sharing side-by-side images of the real match report to highlight the differences.
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https://t.co/9K7xQlGiuj pic.twitter.com/FoJfBOpDJK
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 24, 2025
Some have defended Ferdinand, suggesting he was simply caught out by an image that has circulated online for years, while others have teased him for not spotting the error.
Rooney, whose interview was the subject of Ferdinand’s original post, spoke at length about England captain Harry Kane and the debate over who is the greatest striker in Premier League history.
“He’s a clever lad, Harry, and he knows he’s never been the quickest but I think he’s lost a little bit of sharpness,” Rooney said.
“He’s a goalscorer, he’s clinical, but he’s clever in terms of the positions he’s picking up.
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Wayne Rooney actually scored twice in Manchester United's win over AC Milan in 2010 - instead of netting a hat-trick
|PA
“If he gets a chance, he scores. For me, he’s the greatest ever England number nine.”
Ferdinand then asked whether Kane is now a better all-round player than Rooney was during his own career.
Rooney replied: “I think I could do things which potentially he couldn’t.
“I was nastier than him as well. In terms of goalscoring, he creates goals… for me he’s above everyone.”