SUMMARY
- Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo were teammates at Manchester United.
- The Englishman believes that Ronaldo Nazario and Thierry Henry are jealous of CR7's success.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most widely talked-about players in soccer history. The pundits and fans alike have lauded the Portuguese captain for his terrific performances on the pitch.
However, even though he is a role model for many aspiring soccer players and is an icon of discipline and perseverance and despite all his achievements, Cristiano Ronaldo is also widely attacked by some soccer pundits.
One of Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest achievements is how an entire young generation of footballers are influenced by him. He does not need to change profile pictures so that the world don’t forget him. pic.twitter.com/DIto5YfMDM
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) February 3, 2024
Rio Ferdinand, CR7’s former teammate at Manchester United has revealed the hypocrisy of the pundits. The former Leeds United player also believes that these pundits are exacting revenge on Cristiano through their punditry.
Rio Ferdinand believes legends are biased against Cristiano Ronaldo
The 45-year-old has been a great elder brother to CR7 and has got his back at various times. Rio has once again defended Cristiano Ronaldo at a time when the Portuguese is being bombarded with criticism. The former Man Utd. defender believes some of the criticism is both unwarranted and unnecessary. Rio Ferdinand has even gone to the extent of calling out the culprits for their illegitimate punditry.
Rio Ferdinand first picked out former Brazilian soccer player, Ronaldo Nazario. He feels that R9 is jealous of Cristiano Ronaldo for allegedly stealing his name.
The Englishman said, “There is something in the Brazilian Ronaldo towards Cristiano Ronaldo, I think because of the name, as if he says, ‘You took my name,’ so I have a problem with you.” Rio Ferdinand believes that R9 is jealous of the fact that Cristiano has the same name as him, but has gone on to have so much success in his career.
🚨Rio Ferdinand: “There is something in the Brazilian Ronaldo towards Cristiano Ronaldo, I think because of the name, as if he says, ‘You took my name,’ so I have a problem with you. I also see this thing in Henry, because when I see him talking about Cristiano, he talks about… pic.twitter.com/Qa0nyKbhpY
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) March 24, 2024
However, Rio Ferdinand does not believe Ronaldo Nazario is the only guilty party here. The former ‘Red Devil’ said that Thierry Henry has a similar kind of jealousy towards Cristiano Ronaldo. He said, “I also see this thing in Henry, because when I see him talking about Cristiano, he talks about him and he is not enthusiastic.” The 45-year-old accused Thierry Henry of underestimating CR7 and talking about his achievements very casually.
Rio Ferdinand believes that Thierry Henry is holding a grudge against Cristiano Ronaldo ever since Man Utd demolished Arsenal 4-2 at Highbury in the 2004/05 Premier League season. Cristiano Ronaldo had scored a brace that night and was also embroiled in a little skirmish with Henry.
Rio Ferdinand believes the Frenchman was hurt by the match result, and could not bear the imagery where he had to do a kickoff after Cristiano Ronaldo had scored. The Englishman believes that the former FC Barcelona player hasn’t been able to get over the moment ever since.
Thierry Henry believes R9 is the real Ronaldo
Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher had once asked the Frenchman in CBS Sports’ Champions League show if he had ever exchanged kits with any player after the game. To this, Thierry Henry replied, that he had once swapped kits with Ronaldo Nazario, whom he and Jamie Carragher described as the ‘real Ronaldo.’ This created a lot of tension on the set, with all of the panelists shocked by the duo’s declaration.
Theirry Henry proudly declared, “Ronaldo is R9, Cristiano is Cristiano Ronaldo.” The France U-21 coach however clarified that during his growing-up years, there weren’t enough Ronaldos.
This clip of Thierry Henry now carries more significance after Rio Ferdinand’s comments. It might be well and true that Cristiano Ronaldo might be targeted by the Frenchman for his benefit. Apart from Thierry Henry, we have also seen many critics offer harsh words for the Al-Nassr player. It seems like Cristiano’s terrific soccer record has finally come to haunt him after all.
If Rio Ferdinand’s words are taken into account, then Cristiano’s critics comprise those who were once victims of his heroics. However, their jealousy does not allow their punditry to be biased against Cristiano Ronaldo. The pundits need to understand that their opinions might shape the thinking of the fans, and therefore they are responsible for doing impartial soccer analysis.
