Leny Yoro reveals how Rio Ferdinand convinced him to join Man United and opens up on playing against Kylian Mbappe in his first interview as an Old Trafford player after £52m move

Manchester United’s new defender Leny Yoro has praised the impact Rio Ferdinand has had on his move to the club after completing a £52million transfer fee from Lille.

Yoro was rushed to the club’s training camp at Carrington and was named as a starter by Erik ten Hag for United’s win over Rangers on Saturday.

The 18-year-old has been hailed as a ‘generational talent’, with United beating Real Madrid and Liverpool to his signature as the centre-back opted to move to the Premier League.

United legend Ferdinand welcomed Yoro’s arrival on social media, with the centre-back revealing how the club icon convinced him to choose Old Trafford as his next destination.

Yoro recounted the conversations he had with Ferdinand, calling the meetings with the 45-year-old an “honour” as the two spoke about the club’s history, which is steeped in trophies.

Yoro made his debut for United in the club’s pre-season friendly against Rangers

Yoro explains how conversations with United legend Rio Ferdinand convinced him to join the club

Ferdinand surprised Yoro with a pre-recorded video message when he joined the club

“This is Rio Ferdinand, this is a legend at Man United, so for me it’s an honour. This is a great defender, a legend, so yeah, a great honour for me,” Yoro said.

“It was two weeks ago. He called me, so I was very impressed first of all to talk to him and yeah, we talked about Man United for about 10 minutes, so he helped me a lot to make my choice. So yeah, it was really an honour to talk to him.

‘Yes, he spoke to me about the club, and [that] this is a historic club with a big story, and when I go there I have to fight for the club, be ready, because this is the biggest club in the world. So yeah, for me it was really good to talk about this.

“When I was younger, Rio was one of the best defenders in the world. I think everyone watched United when they were young and for me it was a dream to play for this club,” he added.

During his official unveiling, Yoro was treated to a surprise pre-recorded video message from Ferdinand. He beamed throughout the exchange, while his childhood idol raved about the transfer.

‘Leny, Leny, Leny! How are you bro? Listen, congratulations. Welcome to Manchester United, man. I wish you all the best. I know you’re going to work hard and that’s the secret man: work hard, work hard, work, work, work on all your parts of your game,’ he said.

“You got all the potential, you got all the tools man, you got everything, ready to rock and roll to make a big impact at this club. It’s the best club in the world. It’s a beautiful place to be. Go and enjoy it man, okay, and I’ll see you soon. Good luck, good luck man. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Leny, Leny, Leny!” Ferdinand added.

Yoro described the exchange as ‘crazy’ as he was surprised by the message from the Premier League and England legend.

Yoro was sought after by United manager Erik ten Hag in a bid to strengthen the club’s defence

United beat both Real Madrid and Liverpool in the battle for the signature of the 18-year-old defender

Yoro revealed how playing against Kylian Mbappe in Ligue 1 prepared him for the Premier League

Meanwhile, the promising defender will look to prepare for the demands of England’s top flight during United’s pre-season tour of the United States, and he recalled how playing against Kylian Mbappe has improved his all-round game.

The former Lille star has impressed in previous clashes with the French national team captain in Ligue 1 and said it was a great challenge to take on Ollie Watkins in last year’s Europa Conference League.

‘I really enjoyed playing against Mbappe of course, it was a really big, big, big deal, so yeah, for me it helped me a lot to improve myself.

“It was good against Ollie Watkins because he’s a big striker and yeah, it was really good,” he said.