Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2009, United have had the likes of Nani, Antonio Valencia, Adnan Januzaj, Angel di Maria fail to establish themselves as the club's key right-winger.
Jesse Lingard has made the position his own in recent months under the tutelage of caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but Ferdinand feels the potential availability of Real Madrid's Bale and Borussia Dortmund's Sancho should alert his former club.
Bale's future at the Santiago Bernabeu is in doubt after he hit out at Real fans for booing him recently, while his form has been called into question.
The Welshman has been linked with Manchester United on and off for a while with the latest reported interest coming in the summer transfer window.
When asked by talkSPORT host Max Rushden where Bale could go, Ferdinand replied: "He's got to lower his commission. He might come to Man Utd then.
"If I was someone looking for a player right now, I'd take Gareth Bale if the price was right. But it's down to Gareth Bale.
"If he's got the desire to leave now – he's disgruntled and the fan's don't want him there – a deal could be made somewhere else."
Meanwhile, recent reports in The Telegraph have linked Dortmund winger Sancho with a move to Old Trafford.
The newspaper claimed that the England international would cost United around £100m to land.
"They’re different players, so I'd take both," Ferdinand added about Sancho and Bale. "Man United can afford them, so I'd take both."