Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he and his teammates were left in silence when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his decision to retire after 26 years in charge at the illustrious club.

The 34-year-old has admitted that he never believed the Scotsman would call time on his career after he guided the Red Devils to a record 20th league title.

"We came in and there was a notice in the board to say there was a meeting," The Mirror quotes Ferdinand as saying. "We were a bit shocked because there were rumours in the papers that the manager was going to leave.

"But we were like, 'Nah, there's no chance he's going to be leaving, there are too many good things going on at the club that can happen in the next couple of years with the squad he's building'.

"Then he broke the news and the thing I'll probably remember most from it is that it was dead quiet in the room. Even when he left, there was just a real mad silence."

Ferguson waved farewell to Old Trafford during his final game at the iconic stadium, which resulted in a 2-1 victory over Swansea City, last Sunday.