Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has told former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott to hand over his 2011-12 Premier League winner's medal following a guilty verdict against City for financial irregularities.
Manchester City and their supporters are nervously awaiting punishment after the club was found guilty on the vast majority of their 115 Premier League charges over financial irregularities, despite an almost-certain appeal.
A number of sanctions remain possible, including financial penalties, point deductions, and the stripping of titles.
Ferdinand and Lescott were central defenders on opposite sides of Manchester during the 2010s. Ferdinand represented Manchester United, while Lescott played for Manchester City. The two clubs share a fierce cross-town rivalry in English football's top flight.
One of the honours that could be revoked is City's inaugural Premier League title from the 2011-12 season. City won that championship in dramatic fashion through a late Sergio Aguero goal against QPR, finishing ahead of Ferdinand and Manchester United on goal difference.
Speaking on his podcast Rio Ferdinand Presents, Ferdinand repeatedly called for that 2011-12 title to be taken away and given to United.
"Next time Joleon's on, he better bring my b****y medal," Ferdinand said on Rio Ferdinand Presents. "If you're found guilty, then I think you should have to give the medals back."
The 47-year-old former United defender added that he plans to speak with Lescott directly about returning the medal.
"When I see Joleon, I'm actually going to go to his house and just say, 'Listen, hand it over. Hand it over'. You can't really sit there and say that you were champions, can you? Or you won that or you won that," Ferdinand said.
"Well, they're not going to have to pay any fines. They're not going to get relegated. Just hand over the trophy. Hand over the medals, hand over the trophy. Simple as," he stated.
Demands to Strip Premier League Titles
Ferdinand was one of the first former United players to demand that City be stripped of their championships. On Friday, he posted on X: "Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet."
Days later, Ferdinand maintained his stance while acknowledging City's performance on the pitch under their manager.
"They've been the best team in the country by a country mile, right?" he said. "And they've had the best manager here. But again, if found guilty, there need to be relevant punishments and that's what has to be put in place."
Ferdinand noted that the lengthy investigation process has been difficult, while emphasizing that the squad members themselves should not be blamed.
"So, we have to just sit and wait. Again, the killer for this is that it's took this long. That's that. But back to your point about can we still admire some of the football and and some of the moments that they had? Of course you can. You can still admire. And again, I'll reiterate the players aren't to blame in this," Ferdinand said.
"There's people that are in much more powerful positions and authority positions within the football clubs that make all these decisions. So, I wouldn't place any of the blame on any of the players shoulders, but they're going to be looked at differently and it's inevitable because that's just the way it is," he added.
Reallocation of Past Championships
Ferdinand left Manchester United at the end of the 2013-14 season, a campaign in which City won the Premier League again and Liverpool finished second.
The Premier League is the top division of the English football league system, where 20 clubs compete for the title. If Manchester City are stripped of the championships won during their period of financial breaches, Manchester United would have two titles reinstated for 2011-12 and 2017-18. Liverpool would receive the trophy for the 2013-14 season.
