Former Manchester United skipper Rio Ferdinand admits that he is interested in becoming Manchester United's first ever technical director, though confirms that no official decision has been made by the club regarding the potential post.
The ex-England international, who spent 12 years playing for United during a glistening career in the top flight, is among the list of candidates being lined-up for the role, which the club hope to have filled before the start of the season.
United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has reportedly sat down with Ferdinand to discuss the position, however the 40-year-old says that he is still unaware of what it actually entails.
“It all depends on the shape of the job,” said Ferdinand when asked about returning to Manchester United next season.
“I don’t think it’s all been outlined at Man United in terms of – that’s the job and this is the description. I think there’s a lot to talk about within that.
“To be fair to Man United in that kind of role, the responsibility that comes with that, you can’t lie and say that that’s not a turn-on.
“Because you are helping to shape the fortunes of a club of that stature. That’s a huge job.
“All the boxes would have to be ticked that you’re got in in your head before considering something like that.
“I think decisions made at a football club – not all, (but) some of them should come with a football thought process in the background somewhere, (someone) that understands that side of it and can make that kind of decision.”
The former player, who became the worlds most expensive defender when he joined United from Leeds in 2002, believes that his former employers are still struggling to adapt to life after Sir Alex Ferguson, some six years after the Scot retired from his role as first-team manager after 27 years in charge.
“Man United are looking for their ideology still, he said.
“They went away from it after Sir Alex Ferguson, they tried to take it on under different managers and it didn’t work, so they are still searching.
“They need to lock down a philosophy, an ideology, but it’s not just the first team – it needs to be across the club, with younger players and the foundations, all the way through.
“There needs to be some sort of story at a football club for the stars and the staff to believe in.
“Liverpool have got that, Jurgen Klopp has created that. Man City have got that – Pep (Guardiola) has created that. But they have been allowed to create it. They have had time.
“Do I think Man United can do that? I think time will tell – Ole has a window to work in and then he has to put that jigsaw in place.
“It is a big gap between Man City, Liverpool and Spurs. They will build again, they will recruit again.
“Man United always used to compete from the front – from a financial position and from a trophy position, winning. So if you approach a player you didn’t have to talk about money – we were winning the league every year.
“I could have gone for bigger money, easy. I could have left for bigger money, but I was addicted to winning, so why leave?
“There are people around Man United who can pay the same or more and now they haven’t got the added pull of winning trophies and being in the mix to win the big trophies.
“And you have Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, all massive clubs in transition, so Man United are not top of the queue when it comes to the big players anymore.”
