Man Utd chief went to Chelsea and enraged Fergie by ‘tapping up’ Red Devils icon
It really felt like Chelsea were going to take over the world when Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003.
Never before had money been no object at a football club, and the newly-minted Blues had absolutely zero qualms about rankling the Premier League establishment to get what they wanted. They successfully nabbed Ashley Cole from Arsenal and came tantalisingly close to ripping Steven Gerrard from Liverpool's grasp, but did you know they also tried to sign Rio Ferdinand from Manchester United around the same time?
Just a few weeks before Chelsea wrapped up their title under Jose Mourinho in 2005, Ferdinand was spotted having dinner in a London restaurant with Blues chief executive Peter Kenyon – the man who had quit Old Trafford for Stamford Bridge two years earlier.
READ MORE: Former Man Utd chief Peter Kenyon explains how Cristiano Ronaldo was signed in 2003
READ MORE: Nine massive players Chelsea nearly signed during Roman Abramovich's early years
Chelsea were already under the microscope after clandestine meetings with Cole, solicited without Arsenal's permission, came to light, and although they passed the dinner off as an innocent meal between old friends, an apoplectic Sir Alex Ferguson was having none of it.
The fiery-tempered Scot accused Kenyon of treating United "with contempt", after claiming to be a boyhood Red Devils during his six-year tenure at the club. He fumed: "I can't say I'm overly encouraged by Peter Kenyon's words that he doesn't want to sign Rio.
Would Chelsea have won the Champions League earlier if they had signed Rio Ferdinand? Let us know in the comments section below.
"And I have to say that when the chief executive of a Premier League club, with the history they've got in recent times, continues to sit in that restaurant… well, it's contempt, them thumbing their nose at us. I'd say it was ill advised at the very least."
The Old Trafford club ensured the authorities were aware of the potentially illicit meeting and rumours of a potential move to Chelsea quickly dissipated. But Ferdinand's reputation with United's fans took a brief but significant hit, particularly as he'd only just returned from an eight-month ban after failing a drugs test.
Ferdinand denied knowing Kenyon would be at the dinner, though his agent, Pini Zahavi, contradicted him by claiming he told the England defender Kenyon would be joining them ahead of time. In any case, Ferdinand signed an extension at United the following year and defection to Stamford Bridge was never mentioned again.
He ended up staying at United until 2014, and left the club with six Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph under his belt. Kenyon, meanwhile, remained at Chelsea until 2009. He was instrumental in signing a number of key players in the early Abramovich era, including Arjen Robben, Ricardo Carvalho and Andriy Shevchenko, though controversy was never too far away throughout his six-year stay.
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The Cheshire-born executive was heavily involved in Chelsea's attempt to lure England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to Stamford Bridge, and was the man behind the controversial signing of French teenager Gael Kakuta, which ultimately earned Chelsea a transfer ban in 2009.
At United, he successfully convinced Ferguson to change his mind about retirement in 2002, and persuaded him to ditch the club's rigid wage structure, and spend record-breaking sums on players such as Ferdinand and Juan Sebastian Veron.
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