Ferdinand: Young players should invest resources in themselves like Ronaldo

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Ferdinand was widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world, winning a host of major honours while at Manchester United.

“With the amount of money in the game, these guys need to take a page out of either LeBron James or Cristiano Ronaldo’s book,” Ferdinand added. “17 seasons in the NBA at the top, that’s absolutely ridiculous.”For Ronaldo, [he is] 34 now and he is still at the top and he has been in the top two players in the world for more than a decade. He was the first person I saw invest in a team. I went around his house and I saw about 10 people in his front room. I said, who are these people? What’s going on?

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“He said, that’s my chef, that’s my physio, that’s the doctor and that’s my personal trainer. He left Man United as the best player in the world. He was on the right track. They have both invested huge money in having the right team around them for their body and mind to perform at the highest level consistently.

“I think if you give young players advice, then I would say if you have the resources then invest in yourself like that.”

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