CRISTIANO RONALDO insists England boss Roy Hodgson dropped a massive clanger by dropping Rio Ferdinand from his Euro 2012 squad.
The Real Madrid and Portugal superstar — a former team-mate of Ferdinand at Manchester United — said: “Rio is the best centre-back in England and still one of the best in the world.
“I don’t understand why he is not in the national team.”
Ferdinand, 33, is the shock omission from the 23-man squad for next month’s tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
Hodgson denies that he ditched the United centre-back over fears he and John Terry could not play together after Ferdinand’s brother Anton accused the Chelsea skipper of racism.
But Ronaldo said: “Maybe the coach has justifications and we have to respect those.
“But I have to be honest, I love Rio.
“He’s a great player, great man and he should be in the national team because he would help England do well... maybe to win the tournament.”
A Portuguese victory would surely guarantee that Ronaldo regains the title of World Player of the Year. His Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has no doubts it is Ronaldo — and not Barcelona’s Lionel Messi — who should lift the prestigious Ballon d’Or this year.
“Of course I agree with Mourinho,” laughed Ronaldo. “But I’m not the judge to say whether I deserve it or not.
“I think I played a fantastic season and won trophies, which is very important. La Liga is the most complicated league in the world, so to win it with a record-breaking 100 points was phenomenal.
“I know playing well in the Euros will help me get nominated for the Ballon d’Or.”
The accolades for Real’s £80m world-record signing are coming thick and fast these days.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson reckons Real got a bargain and the 27-year-old striker is now worth a phenomenal £800m.
