- Rio Ferdinand names shortlist of 12 world-class football players
- Included were Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah.
- Lionel Messi or Zinedine Zidane?Who should have played in the Premier League? Listen to the podcast ‘Everything Kickoff’
Rio Ferdinand has revealed a list of 12 players he considers to be world-class in football today, but the inclusion of Jude Bellingham sparked controversy.
Conversations about the best of the game tend to mention a few superstars, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both taking center stage in recent years.
However, now that their careers are on the wane, the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah appear to have taken their place as they have achieved incredible results for the club.
Rio Ferdinand broke into the heated debate and selected an exclusive 12-man shortlist, but fellow critic Martin Keown disagreed over one omission.
During TNT Sport’s coverage of Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 first leg match against Porto, Ferdinand tried to justify his choice.
Manchester City’s Ederson, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland all took part, demonstrating the Treble winner’s overwhelming superiority.
Mbappé, Salah, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane, Alisson and Virgil van Dijk are also on the list, but Ferdinand admitted Bellingham could be absent.
Conversely, Keown believes Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka should have been included as well.
In response to the list, Keown said, “I think Bellingham is someone I have my doubts about.” He is in great form and what he is doing at Real Madrid now, but we are keeping an eye on Saka.
“Saka is England’s player of the year. Bellingham is not considering it.”
Ferdinand replied: “They actually got that list a little bit wrong. Bellingham was on the list just below that by himself. He’s digging into it.
“For me, the only thing stopping him from getting on that list at the moment is time. He’ll be there. He’s got world-class form. He just needs that time. is.
“Saka has world-class potential, but he hasn’t been blessed with the Champions League knockout stages or longevity. That’s the difference.
“You can see that all the other players on that list have played in prestigious games and created moments.
“They’ve been doing crazy things for a long time.”