"Always going to be in with a chance" - Rio Ferdinand says "anything is possible" for Manchester United in the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo in the side

Rio Ferdinand has refused to rule out Manchester United's chances of winning the Champions League this season.

The former Red Devils captain believes that with Cristiano Ronaldo in the team, Manchester United can defy the odds in Europe.

Despite being aware of United's current mediocracy, Ferdinand feels Ronaldo can conjure some magic on any given day in the Champions League.

He said:

"In this competition, you can not bet against him [Ronaldo] coming up trumps because he is the king of this competition in terms of goals and deciding big fixtures. So, with him in the team, you’re always going to be in with a chance."

Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League record

Ronaldo won his first Champions League with Manchester United back in 2008. He joined Real Madrid two seasons later and went on to win the continental trophy four more times, including an unprecedented three-peat between 2016-2018 .

Coming to personal records, Ronaldo holds the lead for the following:

Most UEFA club competition appearances: 189

Most UEFA club competition goals: 143

Most Champions League goals in one season: 17 (2013-14)

Most goals in Champions League knockouts: 67

Only player to score in three Champions Leagues

Most UEFA Best Player awards: 4

Given the plethora of records held by the Portuguese captain, it can be understood why Ferdinand is backing Ronaldo's United to make a dent in the Champions League.

What about the other English teams besides Manchester United?

Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are the other English teams in the Champions League.

Here's what Ferdinand thinks of defending champions Chelsea's chances this season:

"I think they’re the third of the teams capable of winning it."

He added about Liverpool and Manchester City:

‘The two other English teams, Liverpool and City will be ahead of them and I think they will be there or thereabouts with someone like Bayern Munich."

Manchester City defeated Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in the first leg of their Round of 16 encounter on Tuesday night.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will take on Inter Milan tonight and Chelsea are scheduled to play Lille next week.