RIO FERDINAND left fans baffled by his behaviour towards Erik ten Hag live on TNT Sports.
The former Manchester United defender teamed up with Joe Cole on punditry duties at Brighton for the Red Devils’ trip to the Amex.
But before the game even got underway, viewers took to social media to react to Ferdinand SMELLING Ten Hag.
In the pre-match interview, Ten Hag discussed his team selection, Jadon Sancho’s exclusion and any further business in the transfer window.
Host Lynsey Hipgrave thanked the gaffer for speaking to the crew in the pouring rain at the Amex before Ferdinand chipped in with his praise.
He said: “Hey, you smell good today, very good, I like it.”
That prompted laughter from Hipgrave and Cole as Ten Hag gave Ferdinand a cheeky nudge with his arm and smiled, clearly appreciating the compliment.
Then after the United boss headed off to make his final preparations for the tough clash on the south coast, the TNT team continued the discussions about Ten Hag’s aroma.
Hipgrave asked: “What is it?”
Ferdinand replied: “He smells nice. He’s taking care of himself.”
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And Cole added: “It’s always a good sign, that.”
But viewers watching from home were slightly more confused by the interaction.
One tweeted: “Why did Rio Ferdinand seem surprised that Erik ten Hag smelled nice?”
Paddy Power added a screenshot of Ten Hag looking at the camera at the Amex.
Another replied: “Rio is some weirdo.”
And a final user asked: “What is going on?”
Ten Hag took his team to Brighton off the back of a late winner against Fulham in the Premier League curtain-raiser.
And he named the same starting XI to face the Seagulls – meaning match-winner Joshua Zirkzee stays on the bench, while Sancho was not in the squad despite making the trip.
Ten Hag explained: “Jadon is here. I had a choice to make. We had some issues, we need a full squad.
“He’s one of them and needs to compete for his position, we’ll have a look. It’s a long season.”
Ten Hag added: “The start of the season is always very hard and it is about points. If the mentality is not right then you will not collect points.
“We know at the start of the season not everything will go 100% [right] so the mentality has to save you to carry the points.
“The team did well. Not everything went well [last week] but the subs won us the game and the squad did well. We need starters and we need finishers.”
