Cristiano Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand has reacted to the recent transfer rumors surrounding the five times Ballon d’Or winner.
Rio Ferdinand claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s efforts to leave Manchester United are completely understandable because he “doesn’t even know what the Europa League soundtrack sounds like” and isn’t willing to wait for the Red Devils to get their act together.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made an emotional homecoming to Manchester United in the summer of 2021 but he’s now searching for a way out of Old Trafford because he believes the Red Devils’ class of 2022–23 cannot fulfill his own goal for title challenges.
Many clubs across Europe like Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, and AS Roma have indicated an interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo since he asked Man United to release him if any good offer comes in. In line with that, his former teammate Rio Ferdinand supports his decision to leave Old Trafford this summer.
Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube channel: “Of course, he’s not happy! You’re talking about Cristiano Ronaldo here! I don’t understand how it’s a big story that Ronaldo is not happy with the way things are at Man Utd. He can’t be. I wouldn’t be.”
According to Ferdinand, no player would be happy to settle for less after getting used to winning football games and titles. He added that Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy with missing out on the UEFA Champions League next season and he doesn’t even know what the UEFA Europa League soundtrack sounds like because he hasn’t played in the competition before.
The former England national team defender also reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the Manchester United pre-season tour and training, saying Ronaldo’s professionalism cannot be questioned.
Recall that the Portugal hitman missed training for three straight days because of family issues and he didn’t travel with the Erik ten Hag team for their pre-season games.
However, Rio Ferdinand has reacted by saying that people are being disrespectful to Ronaldo by questioning his decisions. “This is the most consummate, most professional athlete that we’ve seen on these shores”, he said.
“The most professional athlete we’ve seen for over 15 years and people are questioning this guy’s professionalism and why he’s not at the training ground.”
Ferdinand added that Ronaldo is a top player and he has been training on his own even though he’s not with the team.
Recall that Ronaldo proved his quality last season by scoring 24 goals in all competitions for Manchester United even though the team had a difficult season. However, the Portuguese unhappiness with the club is mainly because they failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and are slow in making new signings this summer.
Erik ten Hag has only secured the services of Malacia from Feyenoord and is close to completing Christian Eriksen’s deal from Brentford.
