Hammers MD Paul Aldridge has blasted a 'fictitious' report in today's Daily Mirror newspaper which claimed he labelled Rio Ferdinand as 'greedy' following their recent transfer negotiations.
Aldridge hit out after the story by David McDonnell - regarding the clubs apparent unwillingness to give Ferdinand a suitable pay-off - appeared in this mornings paper. It stated:"Ferdinand was branded 'greedy' by West Ham secretary Paul Aldridge for initially refusing to waive his [loyalty] demands, before signing a pounds 30,000-a-week, five-and-a-half year deal at Leeds.
" The Hammers MD's response this afternoon was unequivocal. He said:
"The notion that there is any acrimony whatsoever between the club and player is a fictitious one. I have not spoken to David McDonnell of the Mirror - and nor do I wish to. But there is one person I will be speaking to, and that is our lawyer.
"This quote is an absolute lie and it is the second time it has come up. Rio knows it is nonsense but it is important our fans do as well. We gave Rio an ex-gratia payment to thank him for his services, and perhaps that is generous. But it doesn't make Rio greedy, and I have never even thought such a thing, let alone said it.
"Everything was settled in a friendly fashion with Rio and he will receive a warm welcome when he returns," added Aldridge. "The fact that this reporter called me the club secretary, a position I have never held, shows he has not even done a cursory amount of fact checking."
Ferdinand had said in response to the initial story:
"So many people said the move was all to do with money, but they didn't have a clue about what was really going on. They didn't know the ins and outs - because money never came into it. I've always said I want to play at the highest level and challenge for the top honours in the game, that's why I joined Leeds, for no other reason.
"It was a real wrench to leave West Ham because I've got so many friends there and the club gave me my chance in football. That's why I had to think long and hard before I decided to leave. I'd made my mind up to join Leeds and needed to talk to my family to find out what they thought. After talking to them, we all agreed it would be a good move for me and that's the reason it took a while to sort out."
It is the second time this month that the Hammers have threatened legal action against a newspaper. A fortnight ago the London Evening Standard was forced to apologise for a story they ran which suggested that the club had a serious drinking problem amongst it's players.
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