“It’s nuts” – Rio Ferdinand makes emphatic Cristiano Ronaldo claim in comparison with other legends at fight night

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand recently made an interesting claim about his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo after both of them attended the mega fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Riyadh.

Ronaldo was in attendance for the boxing match, along with many other superstars. The likes of Eminem, Kanye West, Ronaldo Nazario, Luis Figo, Conor McGregor, and others also attended the event.

Ferdinand, though, claimed that Ronaldo was the main attraction despite the presence of so many big names. Speaking about his experience, the ex-Man United star said on a recent episode of FIVE (quotes via TCR on X):

“He [Ronaldo] walks into the building, we saw some of the biggest sporting legends ever under one roof and he stands out as the Superstar in that building still. It's nuts.”

Cristiano Ronaldo played a game for Al-Nassr earlier in the evening against Al-Fayha before attending the Fury vs. Ngannou event. Knights of Najd secured a 3-1 win, courtesy of a brace from Anderson Talisca and another goal from Otavio. While Ronaldo didn't get on the scoresheet, he assisted one of Talisca's goals.

Ferdinand's claims about Ronaldo's star power, though, shouldn't come as a surprise. It is worth noting that the 38-year-old is the most followed person on social media, boasting over 600 million Instagram followers.

Tyson Fury had words of admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo

Apart from the fight itself, Cristiano Ronaldo attended the pre-fight weigh-in for the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou clash. He met up with "The Gypsy King" backstage as well.

Fury holds the Portuguese footballer in high regard and called him the greatest of all time. The Brit also went on to say that he has followed Ronaldo's entire career closely. Fury said (quotes via Gio CR7 X):

"Cristiano, you are the greatest footballer. I am a big fan. I watched all your matches when you were at Manchester United, the first time then the second time. All your matches at Real Madrid..."

Ronaldo is one of the most accomplished footballers of all time. The words from Tyson Fury showed how much respect he garners from top athletes in different sports.