A staple of BT's Saturday night coverage of the Premier League, Tom Cleverley joined Jake Humphrey, Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown in studio tonight for Premier League Tonight.
The injured Watford midfielder spoke candidly of his time at Manchester United and Everton, discussing the scenarios surrounding how he left both clubs, and the manner in which time spent out on loan while a United player hardened him up for the rigours of the professional game.
However, an earlier discussion regarding the development of young English players in the win-at-all-costs Premier League brought an impassioned response from Rio Ferdinand.
Questioned whether or not young players were given too much at a young age and subsequently lost the desire to breakthrough, Ferdinand was having none of Humphrey's reading of the situation.
Jake Humphrey: I remember Frank Lampard sitting in this studio saying that one of the issues with young players is that they get too much too young. You can't be turning 17, 18, 19-year-old players into millionaires and expect that to be the best for them?
Rio Ferdinand: The problem is, they do get too much too early, and good luck to them, but that should not change...
Jake Humphrey: But not good luck to them if that effects their decision-making.
Rio Ferdinand: It shouldn't change their character, it shouldn't change their desires. I was paid a lot of money as a kid, but I had dreams. I wanted to go and play for a team that could win the league, wanted to play for England ... You've got to set yourself targets.
Reiterating his belief that money is the root of an evil for these young players, Ferdinand remained adamant that the BT presenter was missing the point.
I became a millionaire, in terms of having the potential to be a millionaire, at a young age ya? I had nothing as a kid, I was from a fairly rough estate, but my mentality didn't change.
As Keown went on to explain, just because these players were doing well in societal terms didn't mask the point that 'in footballing terms they are doing nothing.'
If you want to watch the full episode back again it is available here.
