Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has said that he would rather play alongside former teammate Nemanja Vidic than Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk has established himself as arguably the best defender in world football since joining Liverpool, with his performances seeing him named runner-up in the 2019 Ballon d'Or voting.

The Dutchman has subsequently been compared with many legendary defenders of years gone by, but Ferdinand stayed loyal to his most notable centre-back partner Vidic when asked to compare the two.

"Prime van Dijk or prime Vidic? Ooooh, good question. I've got to go with Vidic because he was my partner, man. He was my partner. He covered my back and I covered his. That was it," Ferdinand said on his official Instagram account during a Q&A.

"I love van Dijk, don't get me wrong. I love him. Best defender in the world now, definitely. I'd love to have seen him play in our time, seen what he was about. That would have been interesting. But top player."

Ferdinand and Vidic won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during their time together at United.