During his 20-year career, 12 of which he spent at Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand was recognized as one of the best defenders in the world. He won the Premier League six times, the Champions League in 2008, and made 81 appearances for the England national team.
He played 692 matches for clubs, including 504 for Manchester United, and tested his skills against many of the world’s top strikers. In an interview on the Broadtalks podcast, he highlighted four players he particularly disliked playing against.
He first mentioned Raul, the legendary Real Madrid star. “The way he moved, the spaces he found, the positions he took…”
In a very similar manner, he described Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp, with whom he had fierce battles in matches against Arsenal: “He was the same. Both of them would drop deep, and as a young player, I loved stepping out, which left huge spaces behind me.”
Next up was Ronaldo. The Brazilian, Nazario da Lima, caused nightmares for most defenders he faced, even after undergoing multiple surgeries on both knees.
“He made me realize there’s an even higher level. The craziest thing of all is that he had four knee surgeries before our first match. I don’t even dare to think what he’d do to me if he were fully fit. He was a Martian; he was different,” Ferdinand concluded.
Finally, he named a player who wasn’t a global star, as the most impressive days of his career were spent at Bolton. However, he was a menace to all Premier League defenses for years. That player was Kevin Davies.
“He was tough to play against. Before the ball even came near you, he was already holding you and scratching you. It was horrible to face him, really awful. He’d make your afternoon a nightmare,” Ferdinand said about Davies, who played for Bolton from 2003 to 2013, scoring 84 goals in 407 appearances.
