Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has revealed that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes once privately messaged him after he criticized the Brazilian’s playing style.
Ferdinand had called out Magalhaes for being error-prone during the 2022/2023 campaign, something that did not sit well with the Arsenal player, who sent a DM to the former England international to defend himself.
“I said that last year and he [Gabriel] didn’t like it, he DM’d me. This is a big thing, for me, with players today, they can’t take criticism,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
“Players today, not all of them, I have had quite a few players who have come through their agents.
“I have said, ‘don’t you get your agent to speak to me. You get your player to come and chat to me and I will chat to him, no problem’. Yes, he [Gabriel] came directly to me, which I respect. But, at the same time, I don’t think he saw what I was saying.”
Magalhaes played a crucial role in Arsenal’s title challenge last season.