Rio Ferdinand has been widely criticised for defending Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley's running of the club.
The retired defender was working for BT Sport as a pundit ahead of the Magpies' game at Chelsea on Saturday when presenter Jake Humphrey asked him for his opinion.
"I don't even know him [Mike Ashley] very well!"
"When they went down, he spent £50m of his own money to get them up. Thank you, that should be."
"By the way, please say thank you for getting Rafa Benítez in! They're lucky to have him!"@rioferdy5 on Newcastle and their owner. pic.twitter.com/9TID7rJpOF
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 12, 2019
"It's got nothing to do with business dealings I've got with his company," said Ferdinand, whose Five brand is available to buy at Sports Direct, a sports-goods retailer founded by Ashley.
"I just think that when they went down, he spent £50-odd million to get them back up, of his own money. 'Thank you', that should be."
Humphrey questioned Ferdinand's comments, asking: "Wasn't it Newcastle's money that they generated in their time in the Premier League?" to which Ferdinand replied: "Well, he's the owner."
The 40-year-old went on to say Newcastle fans should be grateful Ashley appointed Rafael Benitez as manager, also describing the north-east side as "a yo-yo club" and adding: "He wants to sell the club, why should he go and spend millions of pounds?"
The video received thousands of replies from angry fans of Newcastle as well as supporters of other teams.
As an @Everton fan, with no axe to grind in this argument, I can say that @rioferdy5 is completely wrong. Newcastle fans deserve an owner who at least cares about the club and the likes of Brighton should not be outspending them, absolute joke.
— catman (@blaggy87) January 12, 2019
Newcastle had the lowest net spend in the Premier League during pre-season, and currently find themselves in the relegation zone after a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The club also reportedly turned a profit last summer thanks to player sales.
Someone want to tell Rio about money coming in from player sales and the fans selling out every week? — ㅤMoin (@M0INN) January 12, 2019 Rio Ferdinand saying that Mike Ashley spent £50m of his own money to get Newcastle United promoted and he should be thanked. That's categorically not true. The money spent was generated by the club. — Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) January 12, 2019 " A yo-yo club "....YES, since Mike Ashley bought the club 🙄 weren't relegated from Prem untill he came — Mark Vasey (@Delvaseyo) January 12, 2019
Ferdinand appeared to double down on his comments on Sunday however, tweeting: "@NUFC fans good morning to you all!! Ya clubs turning a profit, no debt, oh and playing in the PL! Terrible!"
@NUFC fans good morning to you all!! Ya clubs turning a profit, no debt, oh & playing in the PL! Terrible! — Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) January 13, 2019
Ashley has been in control of Newcastle United for more than a decade, and has so far failed in his attempts to sell the club.
