Rio Ferdinand has suggested that one Manchester City player is superior to Cristiano Ronaldo now.
Euro 2024 could be Ronaldo’s last-ever international tournament.
The Portuguese captain is coming off the back of a phenomenal season for Al-Nassr — scoring 44 goals in all competitions.
However, unlike Manchester City’s big names such as Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Rodri, the 39-year-old is no longer playing in Europe.
Rio Ferdinand makes Kevin De Bruyne vs Cristiano Ronaldo claim
As a result, the way Ronaldo is viewed among the best players in world football has changed.
For a player to be considered as one of the very best, they must compete in Europe — in and amongst some of the best and biggest teams in the world.
The last time the veteran did was during his time at Manchester United — a spell that can be considered a mixed bag.
While blind ranking the players at Euro 2024, Rio Ferdinand placed De Bruyne as fourth and Ronaldo in fifth place, as shared by BBC Match of the Day.
Ferdinand said: “Kevin De Bruyne, where does he go, I want to put him at number four.”
“[Cristiano] Ronaldo, he’s got to be number five now.”
The pundit concluded: “You know what, I’m happy with that, I’m really happy with that. I might have moved [Harry] Kane with [Jude] Bellingham and De Bruyne but I’m happy.”
Kevin De Bruyne has been better than Cristiano Ronaldo for years
While Rio Ferdinand has merely suggested that De Bruyne is better than Ronaldo now, that has been the case for quite a few years.
The five-time Champions League winner’s spell at Juventus between 2018 and 2021 was impressive.
But as a player, Ronaldo had declined by that time, becoming a pure finisher.
Manchester City’s number 17, on the other hand, in that period was one of, if not the best midfielder in the world — a title that could still be associated with him.
As recently as in 2023, De Bruyne won the treble with Manchester City while being one of their best players while Ronaldo was playing in the Saudi Pro League.
Even when the former Real Madrid winger joined Manchester United, while he was effective, the Belgian skipper was arguably the best player in the Premier League, leading his side to the title in 2022.
As a result, it is no longer outlandish to claim that De Bruyne is a better player than Ronaldo, as has been the case for a few years.