Rio Ferdinand certainly deserves a warm round of applause for his sense of loyalt to his brethren as the Manchester United legend has spoken out boldly to question the criticism and mockery former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has faced since agreeing to join Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Rio Ferdinand opines that the criticism being directed at Cristiano Ronaldo for his move to the Saudi Arabian club reeks of hypocrisy, with the pundit drawing comparisons with occasions in the past when other Premier League greats had moved to developing football nations.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo\u2019s United contract was terminated by mutual consent following his interview with Piers Morgan. In the course of the interview, Ronaldo agreed with Morgan when the latter said that he believed Ronaldo wanted to play at the highest level and wasn\u2019t motivated by money.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo said: \u201cExactly, because I still believe that I can score many many goals and help the team. I believe I am still good enough to help my national team, even Manchester United.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this sudden turnaround \u2013 although in all fairness it would be wrong to ascribe fault to the Portuguese striker that no top flight Champions League-eligible European club are keen to sign him on \u2013 Ronaldo will reportedly earn more than \u00a33million per week in Saudi Arabia although the move does effectively signal the end of his top-level career.<\/p>\n
Ferdinand believes that Ronaldo moving to Saudi Arabia, rather than the United States, means he has faced more criticism than other Premier League greats whose careers have wound down in less-competitive environments.<\/p>\n