New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): Manchester United's latest signing, Leny Yoro, revealed that former club legend Rio Ferdinand played a big part in his move to the Red Devils.

Last Friday, Yoro completed his move from Ligue 1 side Lille on a contract that will run until 2029. A day later, he made his United debut in Edinburgh, Scotland, in a 2-1 win against Rangers FC.

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He played the first half against Rangers and helped head coach Erik ten Hag's team record their first pre-season win of 2024/25.

The young French defender revealed that Ferdinand convinced him to join the Red Devils and told club media, "It was like two weeks ago [when I first spoke to Rio]," Leny explained. "He called me. First of all, I was really impressed to speak with him and, yeah, we spoke for like 10 minutes about Man United, so he helped me a lot to make my choice. It was really an honour to speak with him." "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. For me, it was really good to speak about this," he added.

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During the interview with the club media, Yoro was shown a video message from Ferdinand, who is regarded as one of the great defenders in United history. The former English centre-back made 455 appearances in 12 trophy-laden years at Old Trafford. "That's crazy! When I was younger, Rio was one of the best defenders in the world," continued the 18-year-old. I think everyone watched United when he was young, and for me, it was a dream to play for this club," he said.

After impressing on his debut, Yoro and Manchester United will return to action against Arsenal on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, California. (ANI)

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