Daniel Sturridge has insisted that although many Liverpool fans might not agree with his decision to include a former Manchester United player in his ultimate team, he will still go ahead and choose Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal international, who won his fourth Ballon d'Or award last year, was also named the UEFA Men's Player of the Year for the 2016/17 campaign in August.
Ronaldo scored 42 goals in 46 matches for Real Madrid last season, while in total he has amassed 407 appearances for the Spanish champions, finding the back of the net a staggering 414 times.
He turned out for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 and helped the club to win three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League amongst other honours.
And Strurridge explained that while many Liverpool fans might question his decision to include a former Manchester United player in his ultimate team, he has to pick Ronaldo, owing to what the 32-year-old has done for the game.
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“Even though he’s an ex-United player, you’ve got to put Ronaldo in there”, he said on LFC TV.
“All bias aside, I’m keeping it real too.
“Obviously a lot of Liverpool fans would think, ‘really Daniel, you’ll put a United player there?’
“I have to respect someone’s abilities and what they’ve done for the game and he has done a lot for football.”
Ronaldo, who played a key role in Portugal’s European Championship triumph last year, has won two league titles and three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid.
