Rio Ferdinand mocks Man City fan after TNT pundit calls 'total embarrassment'

Rio Ferdinand has cheekily mocked a Manchester City fan online after the pundit was branded a “total embarrassment” while covering their Champions League defeat to PSG on Wednesday.

The former Manchester United defender was in Paris for TNT Sports as a pundit, alongside former City defender Joleon Lescott and presenter Lynsey Hipgrave.

But Ferdinand's presence in match commentary certainly seemed to ruffle a few feathers among City fans following their 4-2 defeat at the Parc des Princes.

Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland had put Pep Guardiola's men in control, before squandering their two-goal lead and PSG hit back in dramatic fashion in the second half.

Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos brought the French champions back to life and dented City's hopes of qualifying for the play-off stage.

Ferdinand was accused of seemingly favoring PSG in his analysis of the match, with one City fan making his feelings clear on X (formerly Twitter).

The fan wrote: “It's an absolute shame that @footballontnt has @rioferdy5 on commentary for City matches! He made sarcastic remarks throughout the match (and even before the match) and loaned PSG to as he pleases! A total embarrassment!”

In response, Ferdinand, 46, posted a video to his own

“Paris Saint-Germain four, Manchester City two. What a match!” Ferdinand said in a video clip. “Wow what a game, what an atmosphere! Oh what a game!”

He then attached the short clip to a briefly worded message, writing: “What a game Danny” in response to the fan.

The road defeat left Man City facing a decisive final match of the league stage against Club Brugge next week. If they fail to win at the Etihad, Guardiola's men will leave Europe.

Asked if the 2022-23 treble winners would have failed if they didn't finish in the top 24, Ferdinand replied: “100 percent.

“I think with all the success City have had over the last few years, people expect them to get a minimum of the last 16.

“I think they would take it as an embarrassment, I'm sure because they see themselves as a team going into the latter stages and have demanded it in recent years.

“The manager looks deflated and rightly so, they were 2-0 up and whatever competition you’re in you expect to see that.”

The Premier League champions will hope to put things right on Saturday when Pep welcomes his former apprentice Enzo Marecsca, now in charge of Chelsea, to the Etihad.