Rio Ferdinand believes Jadon Sancho is right and players usually thrive after leaving Manchester United as the "shackles are off".
Sancho caused an uproar among supporters at his parent club over the weekend as he congratulated Marcus Rashford on his debut for Aston Villa by claiming the England international had secured "freedom" after leaving Old Trafford on loan. Rashford, 27, had fallen out of favour under new manager Ruben Amorim and went more than six weeks without playing for the Reds before moving to the Midlands ahead of last week's transfer deadline.
Ferdinand has backed Rashford to thrive at Aston Villa, who can sign the forward permanently for £40m at the end of the season, and claimed the pressure of playing for United often weighs players down.
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Antony, Scott McTominay and Anthony Elanga have all recently thrived at their new clubs - Real Betis, Napoli and Nottingham Forest - after leaving United, and Ferdinand has backed Rashford to do the same.
Discussing Sancho's remark on the Rio Presents podcast, six-time Premier League winner Ferdinand said: "You look at Antony, he's got a man-of-the-match performance and a goal and assist in two games,' Ferdinand said on his Rio Presents podcast.
"McTominay is playing like primetime Jude Bellingham at the moment. You've got Elanga, who's a flying winger.
"You've got all these players that are leaving the club that are looking like new, dynamic footballers because the shackles are off, and the cloud and the pressure of Old Trafford, the badge, all that that brings, is allowing them to go, 'You know what, wow, what a difference that is'.
"You're probably going to see the same from Rashford. It's about unlocking what has unlocked Old Trafford for these players to perform."
Rashford's last appearance for United came during the 2-1 Europa League victory over Viktoria Plzen in December and just weeks later, Amorim seemed to take a swipe at the Englishman's attitude as he insisted he would rather select 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than someone who doesn't "give the maximum".
After moving to the Midlands earlier this month, Rashford admitted he was attracted to Villa Park by their manager, Unai Emery, and the club's ambition.
