Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Carlos Tevez was the hardest working player during his time at the club, ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Ferdinand played alongside Tevez for a short but thoroughly successful two-season spell between 2007 and 2009. Under the stewardship of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson and alongside Ronaldo and Rooney, the pair won two Premier League titles, the League Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

Tevez formed wonderful partnerships with Rooney and Ronaldo up front in his two seasons on loan at Old Trafford, with the trio combining for a rather remarkable 140 goals in all competitions in that time.

Speaking on his FIVE podcast alongside former Manchester City captain and current Burnley manager Vincent Kompany, Ferdinand was keen to praise Tevez for the part he played in that iconic frontline, insisting that the Argentine worked harder than both Rooney and Ronaldo during games.

“You mentioned his name there, Tevez. I can’t speak to you without talking about Carlos,” Ferdinand said.

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“A wonderful player. A great guy. Quiet, but an animal on the pitch. Didn’t want him on my team in training, but in the game, come Saturday, there wouldn’t be many more picks before him.

“He just managed himself in training. He just managed himself and didn’t exert any energy in training.

“Come to the game, he worked as hard, if not harder, than anybody and he had an intensity that was almost unrivalled.”

Tevez would somewhat sully his United reputation by infamously joining crosstown rivals Manchester City in 2009, turning down the opportunity to sign a permanent deal at Old Trafford. At City, alongside Kompany, the forward would win another Premier League title in 2011/12.