Rio Ferdinand-Nemanja Vidic
Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic formed a strong partnership at the heart of Manchester United back four. Reuters

Rio Ferdinand fears that Manchester United's decision to allow his defensive partner Nemanja Vidic to leave the club could turn out to be a disastrous decision for them in the coming years.

The former Serbian International's contract with the Red Devils is due to expire at the end of the season. Vidic went on to sign an agreement in March to join Serie A side Inter Milan on a free transfer in the summer. The 32-year-old played his last game at Old Trafford during their 3-1 victory against Hull City last Tuesday.

Only time will tell if Manchester United regret allowing Nemanja to leave.
- Rio Ferdinand

Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson sold Jaap Stam to Lazio in 2001 and then splashed the cash to sign Ferdinand from Leeds United in 2002.

However, the Scot kept on swapping Wes Brown and John O'Shea as his partner before signing Vidic in 2006.

The 35-year-old believes that United could once again have stability issues at the heart of defence like they did in the aftermath of Stam's departure.

"Only time will tell if Manchester United regret allowing Nemanja to leave. He's a great player and it's a shame he had to leave. Obviously, Jaap Stam played on for quite a few years at a good level after he left United and the same thing could happen with Nemanja," Ferdinand explained.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand's future at Old Trafford is under a cloud of uncertainty as his contract too expires alongside his defensive colleague Patrice Evra in the summer. The former England international reiterated his desire to continue playing for United and has no plans of hanging up his boots at the end of the season.

"The club, at the moment, is in a position where they can't really make any decisions about anything. For me to be saying I want to do this or that is irrelevant," Ferdinand said.

"We've got to see who becomes the new manager and boxes will be ticked from there. I've just been concentrating on getting to the end of the season. I'm fit, I'm healthy and I want to continue playing," the centre-back concluded.

United's Interim manager Ryan Giggs has urged the club's hierarchy to give Ferdinand and Evra new deals. However, that could also be dependent on the managerial appointment before the start of the upcoming campaign.

Manchester United FC