Rio Ferdinand reveals that Thierry Henry caused him sleepless nights and selects Cristiano Ronaldo for his all-time Premier League forward trio.

TNT Sports expert Rio Ferdinand has unveiled his all-time greatest Premier League front three, and he has made it clear that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was the only forward who ever kept him awake at night.

The former Manchester United defender has chosen his 2008 UEFA Champions League-winning teammates Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to fill the striker and right-wing positions, respectively.

However, much like his fellow TNT Sports pundits Ally McCoist, Peter Crouch, Martin Keown, and Lucy Ward, Ferdinand has opted for Gunners icon Henry on the left wing. Ferdinand confessed that Henry was the only attacker who ever gave him sleepless nights during his illustrious playing career.

“I’m going to go with Rooney up front as my No. 9,” he stated on TNT Sports’ Premier League Breakdown. “I saw centre-backs twice the size of him shaking in their boots in the tunnel, forget being on the pitch. He scored a ridiculous amount of goals and was the club’s top goalscorer.”

He continued, “On the left wing, none of us has said that Thierry Henry isn’t in their team, I think that says everything there is to say about him. He is the one player in my career who, the night before, probably kept you up a bit.”

As for Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferdinand remarked, “I don’t know if we have seen a better four-year stint than his. He arrived as an entertainer, made people pay to watch him every single week, produced ridiculous moments, embarrassed defenders, and then left as a Ballon d’Or winner.”

Despite his accolades, including inspiring The Red Devils to a UEFA Champions League crown and winning the Ballon d’Or during his time at Old Trafford, Ronaldo’s selection was somewhat controversial. The Portuguese superstar only spent six years at the club during his initial spell in England, and Crouch argued that this duration was not long enough to secure a place in an all-time Premier League front three.

“The only reason he is not in the team is because it is in the Premier League,” Crouch added. “How long was he here? Has he got 100 Premier League goals? I am talking about in the Premier League – if you are talking about players in their entire career, he is in there 100%.”

Ronaldo scored a total of 103 Premier League goals, with 19 of those coming during his second spell at the club.

Ferdinand also emphasized the importance of keeping key players like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool to “maintain culture and winning mentality.”