Ferdinand said: "This is just football remember. It is not a war. It is not a life or death situation. I can understand Leeds fans must be upset with me and they'll want to scream and shout at me when I go back. They pay their money to get into the stadium and let their opinion be heard. I accept that. I don't honestly know how they are going to treat me when I get back there next Saturday, but I suppose I have a fair idea!"
"Obviously, in an ideal world you would like them to give you a good reception and hope they remember the good times we had together. But I am not naive enough to think that is going to happen because I will be playing for Manchester United and I will be doing my utmost to make sure United get the result the players and our fans want."
Alan Smith added to the pre-match hype at the weekend by calling on Lids fans to get on Rio’s back: "I hope Rio gets hammered because it might put him off a bit’ He backed off and said he was only joking but the Neanderthals won’t need much encouragement.
"He probably will get hammered knowing the Leeds fans. I'm sure he's prepared for that. Rio did everything he could for our club so what happens is out of his hands and ours as well,’ added Smith. He's a good lad and a world class player. The only reason people give him stick is because we were disappointed to lose him. That's the bottom line."