Manchester United legend hails Cristiano Ronaldo as ‘GOAT’ after his stunning display in 4-3 win over Al-Duhail

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the 'GOAT' after the Al-Nassr forward's brilliant performance against Al-Duhail on Tuesday, October 24.

Al-Nassr hosted Al-Duhail at the Al-AWWAL PARK Stadium in their third AFC Champions League group-stage clash of the season. They started off well with Talisca giving them the lead in the 25th minute after an excellent backheel assist from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sadio Mane doubled their lead in the 56th minute before Ronaldo got in the act five minutes later. He took the ball on the right side of the pitch, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful shot from his left foot from outside the box past goalkeeper Salah Zakaria.

Al-Duhail then threatened to stage a comeback as Ismail Mohamad (63') and Almoez Ali (67') made it 3-2. However, Ronaldo again scored a brilliant goal on the volley from his left foot. Michael Olunga then scored in the 85th minute for the visitors but it was merely a consolation.

After the game, Ronaldo shared a post on Instagram with the caption:

"Special night in Riyadh - 3 wins out of 3 - and top of the group!💛💙 #ACL Happy 68 years to @alnassr 🙌🏻 "

Manchester United legend Ferdinand commented on the post with the 'GOAT' emoji.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand shared the pitch 221 times at Manchester United, winning a UEFA Champions League trophy, among other honors.

---

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand on Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness post retirement

Cristiano Ronaldo is certainly one of the fittest athletes in the world. The 38-year-old has been on top of his game for over 15 years now and is still going strong. His fitness and lifestyle have been an inspiration to many.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes the Portuguese will look to maintain his fitness levels even after he retires. While discussing footballers' fitness post-retirement, Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast:

"He ain't going to change. Knowing Cristiano and how vain he is and how much he loves his good looks and how much he wants to look tip top, there ain't going to much change in him."

When asked if he can picture Ronaldo losing his physique, Ferdinand said:

"Ah no, I'd cane him! I don't think he'd allow it, honestly. I would cane him, I would hammer him.

"If he's got a little derby sitting over his belt and he can't see the name of his belt and he can barely see his toes, and he's resting his arm on his belly when he's drinking a pint, oh my god I'd pay a lot of money to see that."

A testament to Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness is the fact that he is the highest scorer in world football in 2023, above the likes of Erling Haaland, with 43 goals.