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Rio Ferdinand: 'This year is the worst standard of Premier League football'

Carl Recine / Reuters

Former Manchester United centre-back and current football pundit Rio Ferdinand believes the Premier League teams are the worst they've been in 15 years.

The six-time top-flight champ at United would know, as he was privy to both the legendary Red Devils sides under Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal's famed Invincibles side of 2003-04.

"The teams aren't as good as what they had been for the last 15 years," Ferdinand said, according to ESPN FC. "This year is the worst standard of Premier League football teams I've seen for a long time."

Part of Ferdinand's criticism stems from his belief that many of the world's best don't ply their trade in England - though it's hard to assess the efforts of the likes of Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, or Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, and not classify them as top-tier players.

"All the best players in the world don't play in the Premier League, for one. The second tier of the best players in world don't play in the Premier League. When has that ever been?"

Ferdinand believes a historical matchup proves his point about the relative quality of the sides compared to his Premier League tenure.

"And another reason, as well, not one of these teams here playing this year would beat the 2008 Man United team, they wouldn't beat the 1999 Man United team, they wouldn't beat the first Mourinho Chelsea team, they wouldn't beat the Invincibles. That's a fact."

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