UK Edition
BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand faces backlash from Newcastle fans after voicing support for club owner Mike Ashley
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has become embroiled in a war of words with Newcastle fans after voicing his support for the north-east club's controversial owner Mike Ashley.
The 2-1 defeat at Chelsea left Newcastle third from bottom of the Premier League and there has been a perceived lack of investment in the first-team squad while protacted takeover talks go on between Ashley and a consortium fronted by Peter Kenyon, the former chief executive at Manchester United and Chelsea.
Before the match at Stamford Bridge kicked off, Ferdinand, working as a pundit on BT Sport, said of Ashley: "He spent £50million of his own money to get them back up [from the Championship].
"You can’t hammer him and say that he should be spending when he wants to sell the club.
"You look down the road, last season or whatever, Sunderland spent £1.2 million to get in the Championship.
"He's done that to get them back up, and by the way, please say thank you for getting [manager] Rafa Benitez in because by rights, they're lucky to have him.
“All these fans, they do dream, and they dream big and I understand that.
“What are Newcastle’s aims? They can’t be aiming at being a Manchester United or a Manchester City. They’ve got to aim to be a Bournemouth."
But angry Newcastle fans claimed that the £50 million came from the club's own funds and accused Ferdinand of a conflict of interest because the billionaire sells Ferdinand’s own clothing brand FIVE exclusively at his retail branch Sports Direct.
But Ferdinand hit back on Sunday on Twitter, saying: "NUFC fans good morning to you all!!! Ya clubs turning a profit, no debt, oh & playing in the PL! Terrible!"