The manager of Queens Park Rangers, Harry Redknapp, has said that Rio Ferdinand is one of the fastest centre-backs in the world even at the age of 34.

A few days ago, the manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson had said that Ferdinand is now not as quick as he used to be 5 years ago.

When asked if he reckons that Ferdinand has lost a bit of pace and he is slower now, Redknapp said, “May be Alex Ferguson is right. Ferdinand might have lost a bit of pace. But, even after that, he is one of the fastest defenders going around. He is still very good. He is an asset for the United side.”

“The kind of pace that he has at the age of 34 is incredible. Even at this age, he runs as quickly as a 25 years old guy. When you go past the age of 30, you need to work very hard on your fitness to keep your body in good condition and Ferdinand does exactly that. He spends a lot of time working on his fitness.”

“I had worked with him when I was the manager of West Ham United. He was pretty young at that time, but, he had got tremendous skills. At that time, I had got the feeling that this boy would go on to become a great player and that’s what exactly happened. He has turned out to be one of the best defenders produced by England ever”

In the last season, Ferdinand had a few fitness issues and he had to miss quite a few matches. But, in this season, the 34 years old English defender has shown tremendous fitness and has regularly started the matches for United.