Nemanja Vidic is, without question, one of the greatest centre-backs in Premier League history. The Serbian made the move to Manchester United in 2006 as he joined in a £7m move from Spartak Moscow.

After a slow start to life in England, Vidic was eventually able to establish himself in the heart of Man United’s defence and he would go on to build a formidable partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

The Serbian made 300 appearances during his nine-season spell with the Red Devils, scoring 21 times. He won 15 trophies during his stint, including five Premier League titles and a Champions League, as well as numerous personal accolades.

However, despite his mightily impressive resume, not everyone has been overly complimentary about him over the years.

Jamie Carragher is Not Nemanja Vidic’s Biggest Fan

One big name in the football world that doesn’t rate Vidic as highly as some others is Jamie Carragher. Carragher and Vidic came up against each other numerous times during their stints at Liverpool and United respectively.

While the Englishman recognises that Vidic was a ‘top centre-back’, he doesn’t believe he is anywhere near as great as Virgil van Dijk and used his struggles against Fernando Torres to try and prove his point.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in 2023, Carragher wrote: “VVD [Virgil van Dijk] is far better than [Nemanja] Vidic, who was a top CB [centre-back], but have you forgot his performances against [Fernando] Torres?” he wrote.

Carragher’s comments caused a real stir, with many big names including Rio Ferdinand and Sir Alex Ferguson speaking out in support of him.

When asked by Ferdinand about Carragher’s comments, Ferguson said: “Well, there’s a problem with what he’s talking about. [Vidic] brought [Torres] down twice when he was through on goal, so it looks like he was tortured from that respect.

“The second sending off was a bit unfair. He sort of grappled with him at Old Trafford and then got sent off. So I think Carragher’s saying the fact [Vidic] was sent off twice against [Torres] – once at Anfield, once at Old Trafford – suggests that he tortured him. Like all centre-forwards [Torres] had his qualities, but I wouldn’t say he was the best centre-forward that ever played against Vidic. Far from it.

“There’s a certain inclination and suggestion that because Vidic was sent off against him [Torres] had tortured him. But you know, one tackle can get you sent off.”

Nemanja Vidic Sent Message to Jamie Carragher Following Criticism

Vidic clearly saw Jamie Carragher’s criticism as he hit back at him during an appearance on The Overlap in July 2025. Towards the end of the video, Vidic reminded Gary Neville that he had won the Premier League Player of the Season on two occasions; in 2008/09 and 2010/11.

He said: “Do you know how many players won that? Just five players, two times. Only five players have won the Premier League Player of the year twice: Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and me.”

After confirming Vidic’s claim, Neville then told the Serbian that he included him when selecting his greatest XI of Manchester United teammates. Vidic then launched a dig at Carragher with his response.

Neville looked stunned at Vidic’s comments at first before bursting out laughing. Neville then asked Vidic whether he likes Carragher. He replied: “No, I think he’s good. But not good enough.”