Nemanja Vidic has revealed he's close to Manchester United defensive partner Rio Ferdinand on and off the pitch.

Vidic said: "Rio and I have a great partnership and we are good mates. It was difficult when I first came here because my English was not so good, but now it's much better.

"I didn't learn English at school. I learned from movies and TV programmes with Serbian subtitles - but I listened to the English. That meant I already had a few words when I came here.

"I watched all kinds of shows, like Only Fools and Horses, which was so funny but it helped me to understand the language."

Vidic also told the People: "When you come to a club like United it's always important to know the history and I knew that matches against Liverpool were always massive.

"I used to watch games on TV in Serbia so I know all about the players who have been at United for the past 15 years. I am proud to follow those players. Of course I heard about Pallister and Bruce, and I know it was a big partnership that won trophies here. But I didn't watch them especially and I only found out how much they were appreciated when I came to the club.

"I'm very glad when people compare me and Rio to such good players. It's obviously a very big compliment.

"We have such a great team here but my first priority is to make sure we do our best to defend properly as we have good players up front.

"Last year I scored maybe five goals, this year just one, so I want to continue improving that part of my game and score more.

"Rio has done well and scored more this season in Europe and the Premier League and we need the goals from defenders."