Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has defended his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who withdrew from the Portugal national team camp ahead of their UEFA Nations League match against Denmark.
Ferdinand referred to the state of the Portuguese national team before the Ronaldo era, believing that the Al-Nassr striker is capable of achieving remarkable numbers for his age.
Ferdinand said in comments published by the global outlet "Touchline": "Where was the Portugal national team before Cristiano Ronaldo? And what had they achieved previously? Had they even qualified for tournaments and things like that, let alone won them?".
Read also.. Mourinho clarifies the truth behind his statements about Ronaldo and accusations of arrogance
He added: "What frustrates me slightly is that many people are judging based only on the last three or four years, while he is still achieving remarkable numbers for a player of his age".
He continued: "Regardless of the league he plays in, he is still putting up amazing numbers".
He completed: "I really think many people need to look back and take a look. Let's just take the Juventus experience alone as an example and what he delivered there, then his period with Real Madrid before he reached his days at Manchester United".
He concluded: "It is like three different professional careers in one career, three world-class careers in one career".
