Ferdinand reveals Ronaldo intervention as Man Utd standout he ‘doubted’ deserves ‘special mention’ | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand reveals he "doubted" Diogo Dalot.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo intervened when he previously “doubted” Portugal international Diogo Dalot.

The right-back has been one of the main beneficiaries of Erik ten Hag‘s arrival as he has been among their top performers since the Dutchman was appointed before the 2022/23 campaign.

Dalot has dislodged Aaron Wan-Bissaka to become Man Utd‘s first-choice right-back and it was confirmed at the end of last season that he has penned a contract extension until 2028 with the option for a further year.

Despite this, it was revealed on Monday morning by Manchester Evening News that United are still ‘monitoring’ Bayer Leverkusen standout Jeremie Frimpong.

Arsenal have also been linked with the talented full-back who has emerged as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga. He is available for a relatively low-cost fee as his contract has a £34m release clause.

But according to club legend Gary Neville, Man Utd may not need Frimpong as Dalot could be their “right-back for the future”.

“Dalot is someone that people say he is the right-back of the future for Manchester United, they may have the right-back for the future there,” he said via The Gary Neville podcast.

“He has a lot, he’s six foot, he’s strong, powerful, good on the ball, defends well.

“If he can play in a confident and settled back-four, then he is something to work with.

“Is he the best in the world? No. But does he have the potential to be a top full-back? Yes.”

Ferdinand has also praised Dalot after Ronaldo moved to defend his compatriot earlier in his career.

“Dalot needs a special mention. He is someone I doubted early on,” Ferdinand said via his Vibe with Five podcast.

“I remember speaking to Cristiano Ronaldo and said, ‘Is he really that good?’ – and Cristiano said he will work hard, make himself better and 100 per cent improve. He saw it behind the scenes so he knew that.

“I said to Darren Fletcher when I was at the training ground the other day that he has really impressed me. Darren said that he is a worker, he’s going to make himself the player he needs to be.

“I still think defensively he probably needs to work a little bit. With the ball, if we have players running onto them, the forwards will make the runs and we will score more goals.”

Speaking after Man Utd’s much-needed win over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, Ten Hag lauded Dalot as the defender is “developing very well”.

“Everyone gets criticism,” Ten Hag told reporters.

“But he is a fantastic player who is developing very well. He can score and his defending is improving. He can play in so many positions and he is improving on crosses.”