Rio Ferdinand says it is ‘hard’ to hear about Manchester City’s dominance (Picture: BT Sport)

Rio Ferdinand is ‘hoping’ and ‘praying’ Erik ten Hag can help close the gap to Manchester City as he spoke about Manchester United’s dominant rivals.

Pep Guardiola’s team face Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday, looking to become the second English team in history to secure a treble.

United are currently the only English team to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the same season – which they achieved in 1999.

Ferdinand was quizzed about City’s dominance ahead of the final in Istanbul and told BT Sport: ‘It’s hard to sit here and hear this.

‘Since Alex Ferguson has gone, they have dominated. You’ve got to hope and pray Erik ten Hag and his boys can move it on.

‘Listen, everyone knows I’m Red. I don’t want Man City to do great and remarkable things.

‘But you’ve got to respect what they’re doing. I don’t have that bitterness. If it wasn’t for Pep and the way his team has played, and the players that perform the way they do so consistently, I would hate all this even more.

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‘But the respect overrides everything for me at the moment. If they win it, my emotions and feelings could be very different!’

Ferdinand also shared his prediction for the Champions League final and thinks City will get the job done.

‘I’d love it go 0-0 at half-time, just to keep the game alive,’ Ferdinand added. ‘If Man City go 1-0 up, its game over… 2-0 I’m going to say.’

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‘You’ve got to hope and pray…’