Ferdinand makes joke after seeing his old No 5 shirt is back up for grabs at Man United

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has joked that it's 'time to get back training' after he found out that his old No 5 shirt is up for grabs.

Marcos Rojo has made the switch to No 16, meaning that No 5, previously worn by Ferdinand, is currently without an owner.

Ferdinand wrote on Twitter: 'Just seen my old no.5 shirt is back up for grabs.... inspired...time to get back training! Jose???!!!'

After joining Manchester United from Leeds in 2002, Ferdinand wore the No 6 shirt for a season before switching to No 5 in 2003.

The centre-back went on to wear that number for the remainder of his illustrious spell at Old Trafford, which lasted until 2014 and saw him win a host of trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

United were left frustrated after failing to bring in a new centre-back during the transfer window, and it is possible that the No 5 shirt is being kept free for a new arrival in January.

One fan, @GreggyCo, replied to Ferdinand's tweet by saying: 'Come back!!! Bring back the Man Utd mentality'.

Another, @Josh_Deegan, claimed that Ferdinand would still be a better option than some of United's existing centre-backs and also called for the return of Nemanja Vidic. He wrote: 'You'd do a better job than Smalling and Jones pal. Wanna give your mate Nemanja a ring and see if he's free too?'.

Meanwhile, @Murph786 wrote: 'You’ve still got it. #Rio5 #TheReturn'.

In addition, @Ryanmufc95 wrote: 'What I'd give for a prime rio, with the armband at the back in the current team'.

Gary Lineker, however, was left complimentary about Ferdinand. He wrote: 'Mate, these days you run like you’re carrying those weights.'

Following a short spell with Queens Park Rangers, Ferdinand announced his retirement from playing in 2015.