Rio Ferdinand jokes Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight is the closest he’s ever got to Ronaldo

Rio Ferdinand couldn't help but crack a joke after meeting Ronaldo at the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight.

The Manchester United and England legend was one of the many big names who travelled to Riyadh to watch the blockbuster boxing/MMA crossover on Saturday.

The Gypsy King was knocked down in round three and was pushed all the way by the former UFC champion for 10 rounds but won via a controversial split decision.

Aside from the fight, Ferdinand vlogged the evening on his FIVE YouTube channel.

After filming a hilarious face off between Conor McGregor and Cristiano Ronaldo, he also captured his meeting with Brazil and Real Madrid legend Ronaldo.

«R9, R9 my friends. Woah,» Ferdinand cooed to camera.

«That's the closest I've ever got to him,» he joked to the camera after the footage of him hugging Ronaldo. «Played against him three or four times but never got close!»

Ferdinand faced Ronaldo both with Manchester United and England.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com last year, the former defender admitted Ronaldo was his favourite no.9 to watch.

Recalling Man United's 6-5 defeat to Real Madrid on aggregate in 2002/03 that saw Ronaldo net a hat-trick in the second leg, he said: «He’s my favourite No. 9. I used to watch YouTube videos on him all the time. R9 was the guy

“Even then, he was playing with half a knee, he had half a knee. He’d had multiple operations.

“I’d played against him years before in the World Cup. Rivaldo was actually the better player on the day, but he did a couple of things in that game when I thought, ‘Oh – that’s a couple of levels up’.

“There’s only certain players that have ‘wow’ factors to them. Ronaldo was one of them.”

Keep up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results and standings in our new match