'Ronaldo is not Manchester United's greatest signing'

Former Red Devils defender O’Shea named the club’s greatest signing and explained why it isn’t his old teammate Ronaldo.

John O’Shea thinks Rio Ferdinand, not Cristiano Ronaldo, deserves the mantle of Manchester United’s best signing in recent times.

The former Irish center-back overlooked several big names for the honor, including Wayne Rooney, Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, and even current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The First and last Manchester United Player to win the European Golden Shoe since It's inception in 1967/68 season

Cristiano Ronaldo 🐐 pic.twitter.com/innf5c0YEJ

— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) January 16, 2021

Ronaldo, the only name on the list to win a Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year at Old Trafford, would naturally be viewed as Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest capture and perhaps the club’s greatest signing of all-time. However, O’Shea thinks otherwise.

“I’d have to edge it to Rio,” he told Stadium Astro.

“In my time, in terms of how consistent he performed. He provided such a solid foundation for the team. He was a great lad as well.

“When he joined he really settled in well, he knew a lot of the players from England. He fitted in well at the time and proved to be a very good signing. People mentioned the price tag a lot but he provided very good value.”

On why he ranks Ferdinand above Ronaldo, O’Shea continued: “Yeah, it’s close.

“You are talking about two amazing players but just at the time, what was needed and the impact he made overall at the club, for me, Rio just edges it.”