Rio Ferdinand had labelled Cristiano Ronaldo's omission from the list of nominees for the Premier League Player of the Year award as 'laughable.'
The Premier League announced its eight-man short-list for their player of the season but Manchester United star Ronaldo wasn't included, despite a remarkable return in front of goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrod Bowen, Joao Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, James Ward-Prowse and Bukayo Saka all made the list instead.
Though United have endured a terrible season this term which has seen them fail to qualify for the Champions League, Ronaldo has still maintained a very high level of performance. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has netted 18 goals in the Premier League after returning to England in the summer, with only Salah and Son netting more, with 22 and 21 respectively.
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As a result, Ferdinand has taken umbrage with his exclusion from Player of the Year contention.
"Saka’s in the in the Player of the Year nominees?" he said on the Vibe with Five podcast. ‘I wouldn’t have had Saka in there yet, as well as he’s done.
"I wouldn’t have had him over Ronaldo, no, not this season. Ronaldo should be in ahead of three of four of those guys in there.
"‘He probably doesn’t win it but in terms of nominees, it’s laughable. He’ll take it as a disrespect but these are the things that fuel him, he’ll be thinking, 'how dare you?'
"If it’s based on stats, he’s like, 'I’ve banged in more goals than most of them on that list other than Salah, so what are you talking about?'"
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