David Moyes hits back at Rio Ferdinand: I only banned chips at Manchester United because too many players were overweight

Ferdinand had criticised Moyes for taking away the pre-match ritual

Former United manager David Moyes has made a solid start to life in La Liga with Real Sociedad (Getty Images)

David Moyes has confirmed that he did ban chips from the menu while he was Manchester United manager - because he thought too many of the players were "overweight".

Moyes was sacked as United manager after a woeful 10 months in charge of the Old Trafford club, succeeding the great Sir Alex Ferguson. In Rio Ferdinand's autobiography, #2Sides, the defender criticised Moyes for taking away their pre-match ritual of eating low-fat chips the evening before a game.

“Yes, I did ban chips,” Moyes, now in charge of Real Sociedad, said.

“It was because a couple of players were overweight and I didn’t think chips were good for their diet.”

Ferdinand had also accused Moyes of making United train in a "public park" in Munich last season on the day of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg defeat at the Allianz Arena.

"We went to prepare on the morning of the game as we would always do,” Moyes said. “It wasn’t in a public park."

In the interview, with Four Four Two magazine, Moyes was full of praise for the Belgium international Adnan Januzaj, who he gave his first-team chance while at United last season.

Rio Ferdinand (left) with David Moyes last season (GETTY IMAGES)

“He [Januzaj] has the ability to go past people, inside or outside,” Moyes said. “He has quality on the ball and enough arrogance to show it.

Moyes has spoken highly of Adnan Januzaj (GETTY IMAGES)

“Adnan can become a top player. There’s a composure about him, he could be a wide player or even a centre-forward. There’s a lot of Chris Waddle about him. He’s got the lot.”