Ferdinand claims Ronaldo ‘was right’ about Man Utd star as Al-Hilal star is ranked fifth best winger in PL history

Rio Ferdinand has insisted former Man Utd winger Cristiano Ronaldo “was right” about Diogo Dalot after the Portuguese defender’s recent performances.

The Red Devils are not having the best season with Erik ten Hag’s side finishing bottom of their Champions League group and sitting sixth in the Premier League.

Ferdinand: Dalot deserves a special mention

However, Ferdinand has been raving about one Man Utd star with the former England international selecting Portugal right-back Dalot for a “special mention”.

And Ferdinand gave his former Man Utd team-mate Ronaldo praise for tipping Dalot to come good despite some early adjusting at Old Trafford.

“Dalot needs a special mention. He is someone I doubted early on,” Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast.

“I remember speaking to Cristiano Ronaldo and said, ‘Is he really that good?’ – and Cristiano said he will work hard, make himself better and 100 per cent improve. He saw it behind the scenes so he knew that.

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“I said to Darren Fletcher when I was at the training ground the other day that he has really impressed me. Darren said that he is a worker, he’s going to make himself the player he needs to be.

“I still think defensively he probably needs to work a little bit. With the ball, if we have players running onto them, the forwards will make the runs and we will score more goals.”

Ronaldo had a brilliant time at Man Utd during his early career with the current Al-Hilal forward scoring 118 goals in 292 appearances before notching 27 in 54 on his return to the Premier League in 2021.

Cristiano Ronaldo fifth best winger in Premier League history?

Speaking to Gary Lineker and Micah Richards on an episode of Match of the Day Top 10, former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer selected Ronaldo as the fifth best winger the Premier League has ever seen in his top ten.

Richards said: “Guys, are you watching? BBC’s number one pundit has put Ronaldo 5th! Number one pundit in the BBC!”

The former Man City defender added his reasons for putting Ronaldo top of his list, he added: “He was unplayable at times, though, Ronaldo, wasn’t he? Ronaldo’s gotta be No 1. Ronaldo, come on. He won three titles in six years.”

Responding to Richards, Lineker explained: “Well, you’ve gone basically who is the best rather than who is the best in the Premier League.”

Shearer added: “Best player, yeah, No 1 [is] Ronaldo, but this is best wingers.”