CRISTIANO RONALDO is ‘not scared to laugh at himself’, Rio Ferdinand has revealed.
And the former Manchester United defender loves to troll his former Old Trafford pal with memes on WhatsApp.
The pair starred for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side together between 2003 and 2009, before Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for £80million.
The Portuguese, 36, has gone on to global superstardom, with five Ballons d’Or, five Champions Leagues and the recent accolade of overtaking Pele’s career goal haul.
But Ferdinand, 42, has admitted that CR7 is still just ‘one of the lads’.
He said on his Vibe with Five YouTube show: “Yeah man we have a laugh.
“If I see something funny or a meme on Instagram it gets smashed onto WhatsApp to make sure he sees it so you can take the mick out of him.
“He’s always been like that, even as a kid when he came to United, he ain’t scared to laugh at himself.
“He don’t take nothing personal, he’s just one of the lads – but he’s the best.”
Ferdinand also gushed about his pal’s ‘unrivalled’ work rate.
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He added: “Everyone sees all of the fast cars, the aeroplane trips, the private plane, the fashion, the million dollar smile etc.
“But what I see when I look at him is a work ethic that’s unrivalled, simple as that.
“I think that’s the takeaway for any kids when they look at him, when they hear about him, when they’re aspiring to be someone like Cristiano Ronaldo – work ethic has to be at the absolute base of any ambition to be the best.”
On the same show, Ferdinand gave his thoughts on Man United’s current defence.
He said: “I think that’s Ole’s biggest concern – can he leave Maguire one-v-one on the halfway line? Or Lindelof?
“It’s proven that you can’t as that’s not their main attributes.
“Harry Maguire is good at a lot of other things but that area, that’s one of his weak points.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
