Ravel Morrison’s career remains something of an enigma in the world of football.
Despite being touted by some of the game’s biggest names as one of the best young talents they had seen, Morrison now finds himself without a club.
The 28-year-old recently appeared on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, where he opened up about his regrets and desire to return to football.
Ferdinand, who has frequently spoke about how highly he rated Morrison as a youngster, revealed he had text Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of the chat, asking for a few words on the former youth prodigy.
Sir Alex was left ‘gobsmacked’
“I text two managers when I knew you were coming on Ravel. I text the last manager you played for in the Premier League, which was Chris Wilder. I’ve told you what he said.” Ferdinand said.
“I also asked for five words from Fergie – Sir Alex Ferguson.
“He text me back this: ‘Rio, my first and last impression of Ravel as a young lad was that he has always got time and space, always available to be on the ball, so unusual for a young lad of his age. Give my regards to him please.
“Another thing about Ravel which I’ve always treasured, because no other young player who made their debut did it. After the first game in the first team that he played, the next morning he came into my office and gave me a letter, thanking me for giving him his debut. I was gobsmacked Rio. The boy had a good heart, he was just beaten by his background’.”
Ferdinand also shared Wilder’s five words, which were: “Unpredictable, a maverick, humble, a natural and frustrating.”
On stealing Rio’s boots
Morrison went on to discuss how he’d steal Ferdinand’s boots to sell and help put food on the table.
“Obviously I was on a scholar’s wage, I was young,” Morrison explained.
“You used to get like £250 for a pair of boots. You take two pairs of boots, you get £500 and you go home and buy your family a Chinese or something.
“You guys used to get like 30 pairs of boots. I didn’t mean it to cause so much harm but when I used to see yours or [Wayne] Rooney’s deliveries, you’d get 20-30 pairs at a time, I was thinking one pair to put some food on the table at home, I didn’t think it would be a big problem but obviously, now I know.”
What next?
After playing for 11 clubs across six different countries, a move to the Championship could be on the cards, with Morrison revealing that he had held promising chats with a club over a potential move.
“I had meeting with a Championship club and think that’s looking very positive,” he said. “I’d like to stay local because of family, I’ve got two little brothers and my mum, and I’ve been travelling all my life.
“But I’ve got a team in Spain, in La Liga, so that could happen.”
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