Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand names Liverpool stars in his 2024-25 PL team of the season

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has named four Liverpool players in his Premier League team of the season (2024-25) so far, excluding some big names. The four Liverpool players on his list are Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool have arguably been the best team in the league so far, as they are at the summit of the table, eight points ahead of second-placed Nottingham Forest, and have a game in hand. Dutch manager Arne Slot couldn’t have wished for a better Reds side after he took over in the summer.

The ongoing Premier League campaign has seen a few surprises — from Manchester City’s unexpected downturn in fortunes to Chelsea getting into the title race conversation. Teams like Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth have got tongues wagging with their impressive performances.

The 2024-25 EPL campaign is nearing its midway mark, with most teams set to complete 19 matches by the end of the year. As the Premier League fixtures this season are set to be divided into two halves, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has named his 2024-25 team of the season so far.

Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Rio Ferdinand Presents,' the former defender picked Arsenal’s David Raya in between the sticks. Ferdinand didn’t include any of the Manchester United players in his XI.

Liverpool defenders Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold formed the back four with Arsenal’s William Saliba and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella in Ferdinand's team. Moises Caicedo and Gravenberch were chosen as the deep-lying midfielders while Salah joined Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka to form the attacking midfielders. Erling Haaland led the attack.

Rio Ferdinand says Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot isn’t the manager of the season so far

On the same podcast, Ferdinand reckoned that despite his remarkable start to life at Anfield, Slot is not the manager of the season. Liverpool currently sit at the summit of the EPL and Champions League tables. They have also reached the semifinals of the Carabao Cup.

Ferdinand believes Enzo Maresca has been the best manager so far.

“It's not a big difference,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel Rio Ferdinand Presents (via liverpool.com). “I just think Maresca has come in and took a team from being a circus, a calamity…”

Owen Hargreaves quickly interrupted to plead Slot’s case, saying:

“He's [Maresca] done unbelievable. But I'm saying if you're top of the league, best team in the Champions League, it's Arne. Not even a [question].”

Ferdinand replied:

“No, no, no, I think he's great. But I'm saying the level of change within the clubs is very different. [Maresca] has closed that margin more. [Slot] has had a wonderfully settled ship. The ownership in Chelsea is so fragmented, it's in the papers every other day. [Slot] has had a new sporting director but it's not unstable."

''It's still a stable environment. There's no noise. When [Jurgen] Klopp was there, there was no noise. 'm fighting Maresca's corner. He's had more fires to put out than probably half of the league. And he's stomped them out. It's my show, my views," he added.