Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed he was upset at manager Alex Ferguson's decision to overlook him for the captaincy.
The retired ex-England international, who joined from Leeds for a British record fee of £30million in 2002, enjoyed a 12-year stay at the Old Trafford club before ending his career with QPR.
Ferdinand lifted the Champions League title in 2008 as stand-in captain but following the return to fitness of skipper Gary Neville, the centre-back was stripped of the armband.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Ferdinand admitted he questioned whether he was being undervalued after the decision was made.
"Sometimes there's situations during your career you think, 'Am I getting the credit I feel I deserve?' But, at the same time that is one of the things that maybe pushed me on to keep improving year in, year out, to sustain and stay at that level for all them years," he said.
"I think I needed, as a person, for something to try and get to and grasp onto. If I had everything at one time, it might have been detrimental to my growth, maybe."
Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles with the club, confessed Ferguson's management style was tough to work under, insisting the Scottish boss would rarely credit him after a good performance.
However, following his retirement from football in May, Ferguson gave his reasoning.
"He spoke to me and said: 'Your personality, if I had given you too much credit you might have gotten carried away, when you were younger, especially,'" Ferdinand added.
