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Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has revealed his greatest friends in football.
The iconic Serbian defender named two former Manchester United team-mates among his closest mates in the game, along with a colleague from Inter Milan.
Vidic was speaking to FourFourTwo ahead of the Champions League final, courtesy of Heineken – whose Fans Have More Friends campaign gets the average supporter closer to the action and connected with their fellow supporters to bring the atmosphere.
Nemanja Vidic: 'You want to trust your partner - and Rio Ferdinand is a great friend'
“Obviously, from Inter, where I played, Samir Handanovic, the goalkeeper, we are still good friends and actually our families get on well together as well,” Vidic began.
“And Rio [Ferdinand], always, you know. Even if you don't see each other for a long time, when you see each other, it's great to catch up with each other, to talk about the game, to enjoy football.
“We didn't have time to enjoy it when we were football players because we were travelling, preparing for games, under a lot of tension and pressure to perform well.”
“Berba, too, I'm close with – so yeah, there are quite a few players. I'm in touch with some Serbian guys too.”
Vidic and Ferdinand famously formed the base of the Red Devils' defence the last time that United won the Champions League – and now, the Serbian says that it was integral to their relationship that the pair had a closeness off the pitch.
“I think it's very important to have a good spirit in the team in general, but especially if you play at the back,” he explains. “You want to trust your partner, you know?
“I obviously played with him for nine years and we worked on our relationship on the pitch and off the pitch to understand each other. I think I've talked about that many times, but definitely, I believe that it is very important.
“The way that Rio plays and the way I play complement each other. We are kind of different, but we understand each other – what I will do in certain situations, what he will do, and that's it. To understand your friend, that's friendship.”
