Edwin van der Sar chooses ex-Manchester United defender ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as he compares Red Devils’ legends

Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar chose Rio Ferdinand ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo during a recent interview. The former Dutch goalkeeper shared the pitch with both players during his time at Old Trafford.

Van der Sar recently sat down with GOAL to take his pick from a handful of Red Devils legends. He was first asked to selected between Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, and the Dutchman opted for the latter.

Van der Sar was next given the options of former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane and current captain Bruno Fernandes. The former goalkeeper opted for the fiery Irishman.

The Dutchman also chose Cristiano Ronaldo over David Beckham and Paul Scholes over Roy Keane. The conversation then took an interesting turn, as he was given the options of CR7 and Ferdinand.

Van der Sar opted for the former England defender ahead of the Portuguese superstar. The view might come as a surprise given that Cristiano Ronaldo is a global sensation and certainly among the best players in the world.

However, Rio Ferdinand's contributions to Manchester United's history cannot be ignored either. Interestingly, Van der Sar registered the longest Premier League minutes without conceding a goal (1311) during the 2008/09 campaign with Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic ahead of him.

While that could have had a bearing on his decision, the Dutchman ultimately opted for Paul Scholes ahead of the English defender in the final phase of the conversation.

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How many games did Edwin van der Sar play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Edwin van der Sar arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 2005 from Fulham to sort out the club's goalkeeping woes. By then, Cristiano Ronaldo was already beginning to assert his dominance in the Premier League.

The two shared the pitch 167 times for the Red Devils, even contributing one goal together. They registered 114 wins and lost just 24, winning the league three times on the go.

Van der Sar also won the Champions League, the EFL Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup alongside CR7. The Portuguese superstar ultimately left Manchester United in the summer of 2009 to join Real Madrid.

Van der Sar stayed put for a couple more years, winning another league title before retiring in 2011. By then, the legendary Dutchman had registered 135 clean sheets from 266 games for the Premier League giants. He recently served as the chief executive of Ajax.