Cristiano Ronaldo will take his Premier League Player of the Season nomination snub as "disrespect", says former Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand.
The Portuguese forward was an eye-raising exclusion from the eight-man shortlist, despite sitting third in the English top flight's goalscoring charts this season, with his absence likely the effect of United's own frustrating campaign.
No Red Devils stars made the cut, while Arsenal's Bukayo Saka - along with West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Southampton's James Ward-Prowse - filled out a roster mostly composed of players from 'Big Six' clubs, with Ferdinand saying the snub will rankle Ronaldo.
What has Ferdinand said on how Ronaldo will react?
“Saka’s in the Player of the Year nominees?" Ferdinand stated on his VIBE show on YouTube. “I wouldn’t have had Saka in there yet, as well as he’s done. I wouldn’t have had him in there ahead of Ronaldo, not this season.
“Who’s voted that? Ronaldo should be in ahead of three of four of those guys. He probably doesn’t win it but in terms of nominees, it’s just laughable.
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"He’ll take it as a disrespect but these are the things that fuel him, he’ll be thinking, ‘How dare you?’ And it’s based on stats, he’s like, ‘I’ve banged in more goals than most of them on that list other than Salah, so what are you talking about?’.”
How do Ronaldo and Saka compare head-to-head?
When it comes to goals, the Portuguese has got the young England man beat, having nabbed 18 Premier League finishes next to 11 for the Gunners star.
Saka has managed twice as many assists as Ronaldo though - six against three - while overall goal involvements see the latter shade the former with 21 against 17.
In terms of chances created though, Saka comes out on top again, with 1.62 per 90 minutes, next to Ronaldo's 0.89 figure.