Champions League final: ‘Immortal’ Manchester City team ‘will go down in history’, says Rio Ferdinand – ‘Statues galore’

Manchester City’s Treble winners are “immortal” and deserve a statue for their achievements this season, according to BT Sport expert Rio Ferdinand.

They are the first English team to win the Treble since Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous Manchester United team of 1999.

Speaking immediately after the final whistle was sounded in Istanbul, Ferdinand was in awe of City’s success.

He said of City’s players and staff: “Immortal. Statues galore. They’ve earned it. This team have played a brand of football that is admired around the world.

“This has been a project and a process for a long time, many years now since Pep Guardiola came in. But these players have produced some football that has been out of this world.

“As a collective, this team will go down in history. They deserve to. A fantastic team, and they’ve dug deep when they’ve needed to. “

It was far from vintage City on Saturday as they survived a number of scares on the night, and Ferdinand was impressed by the team’s ability to dig deep when required.

“They have been able to play both sides of the game, and I think that has been the difference from this City team to past ones,” he continued.

“They can pass, they can play the fairytale football but also when needed they can dig in, roll their sleeves up and fight through games as well.”

Ferdinand referenced some of the “hard losses” suffered by City in the Champions League over the years. Just last year, they were cruelly beaten by Real Madrid in the semi-final. The previous year, they lost to Chelsea in the final.

Ferdinand said: “It’s one of those things you look at, ‘will it ever come or is it too much for us? Are we going to get to the top of Mount Everest?’ Well they’ve done it.

“This team deserve all the credit they get because they’re a formidable, fantastic team.”

Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas was surprised by how well Inter performed but felt City were deserving winners.

“It was a difficult game for them because I don’t think even they thought Inter would play such a brilliant game,” he said.

“They gave a great fight but credit to Man City because they found resources. Your best player comes off after 20 minutes, the brilliant Kevin De Bruyne, so we’re all asking, can they do it, can they stand up to the challenge? They certainly did. They performed to a top, top level and I’m happy for them.”

Fabregas then reflected on his brief time playing under Guardiola during 2011 while at Barcelona.

“He’s a very tough manager to play for because he demands the absolute best. But the day-to-day, you are fine because he does it in a philosophy that every player dreams of. You have the ball, you don’t have tough training sessions in terms of running, it’s all tactical, technically at the highest level. And I think this sums up the season that he’s had – something special.

“We first thought when he came to England that he would find it difficult, can you bring his type of play to the country? Everyone doubted it. But he’s a very special person, and a very special manager and I’m delighted for him.”

Former City defender Joleon Lescott added: “Every season he found different ways. It wasn’t long ago when he was talking about the inverted full-backs and then all of a sudden he’s playing with four centre-halves.

“In regards to what he’s done, for the transition of this team, this club, the game… he’ll forever be immortal.”

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