Rio Ferdinand is known to be a firm champion of Manchester United's Leny Yoro, and feels that only four Premier League centre-backs outclass him.
Manchester United secured Leny Yoro from Lille in a high-profile move last summer, with the teenager hailed as one of the finest young defenders in world football.
Although United have faced challenges since his arrival, the French centre-back has continued to develop and is now seen as one of Rúben Amorim’s standout players.
His strong performances recently earned him a call-up to France’s U21 squad, with some even arguing he is ready for a place in the senior team.
Yoro gained valuable experience on Monday evening, playing the opening 45 minutes in a 3-0 victory over Serbia, further underlining his progress.
Rio Ferdinand is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s greatest centre-backs, having won six league titles with United, forming a formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic.
The 46-year-old is also well known for his good eye for spotting young defensive talent, and has always been a steadfast believer in United’s Yoro, who signed for £52 million from Lille in the summer of 2024.
Speaking recently with GOAL, Ferdinand admitted that he only sees four other Premier League centre-backs as currently better than the 19-year-old. When asked to do a "winner stays on" for Premier League centre-backs, Ferdinand picked Yoro over both Jarrad Branthwaite and Marc Guehi.
He then conceded that Manchester City's Joško Gvardiol may be better now, but that Yoro has a higher ceiling. Following that, Arsenal’s Gabriel then surpassed Gvardiol, and then the Brazilian was replaced by William Saliba. Finally, he picked Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk over the rest.
In the end, Ferdinand only sees Gvardiol, Gabriel, Saliba, and Van Dijk as superior to Yoro, which is a huge compliment and testament to his abilities. Considering the teenager is still developing, it also speaks to the future heights Yoro can reach.
Nahaciory
47
Maguire is miles better than Yoro
Razaqsadiq
34
It's funny that we all know that even Maguire is a better defender than Yoro, trying to convince me that Yoro is better than Mosquera, Konate, Guehi, Calafiori, Colwill, Dias, Van de ven, Romero and Hincapie
Midbdlotuy
27
many people better than him, Diaz, stones, Ake, Van Dyik, Konate, Shaloba, Van de Vein, Romero, De Ligt, Maguire, Salina, Gabriel, Mosqera, Hincapie, and so many more
__Here_we_go__
23
Yoro is not even the best defender in Man United De ligt is better defender than Yoro Yoro has lot of potential to become best but he is not Top 10 defender in EPL currently