Rio Ferdinand joins chorus urging Wayne Rooney to remain at Manchester United

Rio Ferdinand wants to finish his career at Manchester United and has backed team-mate Wayne Rooney to follow suit.

The 34-year-old Ferdinand has been at Old Trafford since 2002 and the former England captain has been rewarded with a testimonial at home to Sevilla on August 9.

Rooney has also had a long and illustrious career with United but his future remains unclear after he was dropped from the side towards the end of last season's Barclays Premier League-winning campaign, with Sir Alex Ferguson claiming he had handed in a transfer request for the second time in three years.

But new Red Devils boss David Moyes, who also managed Rooney as a youngster at Everton, revealed at his first press conference that the 27-year-old would not be sold and Ferdinand reckons his compatriot only has to look at former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo to see that the grass is not necessarily greener away from Manchester.

Ronaldo has been in scintillating form since he sealed a record-breaking £80million move to Real Madrid in 2009, but Ferdinand feels he could have secured more honours if he had stayed in England.

"I think when someone is at your club who has been there for the length of time he [Rooney] has been there, he's more than clued up to understand the dynamics of the club," said Ferdinand.

"He's mature enough now and old enough to make his own mind up. I'm sure in time he'll have his say.

"I don't see where you go better from here. For instance, Cristiano has been ridiculous as a football player individually but has he won more trophies since leaving than what we've won? That's the way I look at it.

"I wouldn't say that he shouldn't have gone there; it was his dream to go there, so you have to respect that. But I just look at things in a plain, black and white way - I want to win trophies so why would I leave here?"

Ferdinand joined United from rivals Leeds for £30million and, after taking a couple of seasons to completely win over the supporters, has gone on to become a stalwart, captaining the club to their Champions League triumph against Chelsea and collecting six Premier League winners' medals.

Those years of success mean Ferdinand can not envisage finishing his career anywhere else in the world.

"I've had loads of offers over the years to go to other football clubs and there's been loads of speculation in the papers every other year, but I've never really wanted to go anywhere," he said.

"I came to Man United for one simple reason and that was to win trophies, so I could retire and say how many trophies I've won and look back and say I've made a success of my career.

"That's all you do and I'm sure most young players, or players in their prime, when they're asked to come to Manchester United, that should be the question they ask themselves: 'Have I got a chance to win?' Do you want to be part of that history of the club? Normally the answer is yes."

PA