Former Chelsea star Wayne Bridge left Cristiano Ronaldo out of his five toughest opponents after claiming that he “didn’t mind playing” against him.
The 41-year-old spent six years at Stamford Bridge and played against the world’s best during his time in the Premier League and Champions League.
Bridge, who left Chelsea in 2009 and signed for Manchester City, also crossed paths with Ronaldo during the Portuguese superstar’s first spell at Manchester United.
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The ex-Chelsea full-back claimed Ronaldo was “so quick and powerful,” but he didn’t play against him at the “peak” of his powers.
Bridge proceeded to snub the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in his top five toughest opponents in his career.
The former England international insisted that Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon were ‘standout’ opponents ahead of Ronaldo.
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“Cristiano Ronaldo is the obvious choice but I didn’t play against him at his peak, but he was so quick and powerful,” Bridge told bettingexpert.
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“I didn’t mind playing against Ronaldo. He wasn’t as quick as me over the first few yards, I always felt that I could stick with him and I always felt I did okay against him.
“You always had to be switched on. He loved a step-over and was very skilful and he could sometimes make you look stupid. It was always at the back of my mind that he was going to try and nutmeg me here or twist me about four times until I fall over.
“There’s two players that really stand out: Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon. They’re very small, so [they] have a low centre of gravity so they’re very quick over five yards. You always had to stay switched on and try and predict where they were going as it was always a battle with those two.”
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Joining Wright-Phillips and Lennon on Bridge’s five toughest opponents include Kieron Dyer, Joe Cole and Riyad Mahrez.
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“I always had good battles with Kieron Dyer as well, he was a player where we’d just cancel each other out. We never got much change out of each other me and him,” Bridge added.
“When I played against Joe Cole, if I was ever less than 100 per cent, I’d know about it because he can twist and turn you inside out.
“Another player that was tough was Mahrez. I played against him when I was at Reading and it was towards the end of my career, I had a lot of knee trouble and he twisted me inside and out -- which I obviously blamed on my knee. Looking on now to see what he’s achieved it’s brilliant.”
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Riyad Mahrez, Football