Rio Ferdinand has torn into ‘vulgar’ Arsenal fans for their ‘utterly disgraceful’ protests against Noni Madueke’s arrival at the club.
The England winger is on the verge of completing a move to the Gunners after a £52million deal was agreed on Thursday along with personal terms and a five-year contract.
The 23-year-old had trained with his Chelsea team-mates on Thursday morning in New York ahead of their Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain this Sunday but has returned to England to complete his medical.
He will become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer, behind Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga, and the seventh Chelsea player signed under Mikel Arteta.
But Madueke’s impending move has been greeted with disdain by sections of the Arsenal fan base, with a brutal petition against his move racking up near to 5,000 signatures.
Murals outside the Emirates have been vandalised with ‘Arteta out’, while #NoToMadueke has gained traction on X.
Noni Madueke is set to join Arsenal after a £52million transfer and personal terms were agreed
The 23-year-old England winger has returned from the US to complete his Arsenal medical
A brutal petition lobbying against the Madueke move has so far racked up 4,924 signatures
Now Rio Ferdinand has rushed to the winger’s defence in a lengthy social media post, where the Manchester United and England legend claims he has ‘never seen anything like this before’.
Posting on X, he wrote:’For a young 23-year-old English footballer to be vilified, bullied, embarrassed and totally strip[ped] down at a time when you’re meant to be celebrating a transfer worth £55million.
‘Yes a young kid with a dream about to secure a £55million dream move to a club of his desire leaving a rival at that to be treated in this manner via section of the Arsenal fan base is an utter disgrace.
‘Just put yourself in his shoes for one minute just put yourself in his parents shoes for one minute and just think of how that feeling must be.
‘I’ll say it again, at a time as a player as a human as a family you should be celebrating. I just hope the people that are closest to him are around him and supporting him in the way that he needs right now.
‘It’s fine for fans to disagree with signings or decisions made at their football club but the way some fans have publicly voiced their opinions and those who have gone a step further in publicly joining a petition for this player not to be signed by their football club is beyond me.
‘I have never seen anything like this before, and I hope I don’t ever again. Like I said earlier just imagine this was your best friend, one of your family members, your brother, son…then tell me how would you feel if they were on the receiving end of this vulgar behaviour???
‘By the way, This isn’t aimed at all Arsenal fans it’s just a small section who have become very loud unfortunately.
The England international has scored 20 goals for Chelsea since joining from PSV Eindhoven
The winger will become the sixth Chelsea player to have moved to Arsenal under Mikel Arteta
‘I just hope the transfer goes through and Noni Madueke rams all of this negativity back down the throats of these impostors. Whatever happens from here good luck Noni.’
Ferdinand’s comments come after Arsenal legend Sol Campbell urged the club to explain their reasons behind signing Madueke.
‘I think most people are probably thinking, “Do we need him?”. He’s a quality player, but I think the club needs to explain why they’re getting certain players in and how it’s going to fit into our system,’ the former defender said.
Madueke has been a regular for Chelsea over the last season, including playing the entirety of their Conference League final which they won against Real Betis.
He has also been used at this Club World Cup, though was a substitute rather than a starter in their semi-final win over Fluminense amid apparent concerns from Enzo Maresca that his focus was not entirely on Chelsa.
While he is set to leave Stamford Bridge, the Blues have an 18-year-old wonderkid in Estevao Willian arriving from Palmeiras this summer.
Madueke was benched against Fluminense after concerns his focus was not fully on Chelsea
The Blues have 18-year-old wonderkid in Estevao Willian arriving from Palmeiras this summer
He played on the right wing against his future employers and scored a spectacular goal in a sign of his potential.
Madueke is left-footed and prefers to play on the right – a position occupied by Bukayo Saka at Arsenal. But he is also capable of playing the left and has featured there recently for the Blues.
Maresca left Madueke out of two matches in 2024-25 for internal reasons, one of those coming when he had performed poorly in training.
He will likely compete with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli for a starting spot in the Arsenal team next season.
