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Rio is poolside at his Beverly Hills Airbnb with Ste Howson and Joel Beya to discuss a pair of players who have been criticised heavily at the World Cup.
Jeremy Doku has faced huge media pressure after he announced his intention to travel home from the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of his first child - Rio backs his decision and recounts his own experience at the births of his own children as moments where family puts football into perspective.
After failing to score in his opening game - Rio’s former team mate Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticised and compared to other forwards who started the tournament in impressive fashion.
Following Joao Neves’ comments on his captain’s role within the team - Rio details how Ronaldo bought into the team mentality in the Manchester United dressing room and shuts down any criticism of Ronaldo’s willingness to work as part of a collective.
Rio also picks his front three of the tournament so far which will surprise some people and Ste asks you to get in touch with the teams, players and moments that have surprised you the most for the next podcast recording and Joel is left in the dark about an escapade booked by Rio and Ste for the trio to experience whilst they're in LA together.
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"Rio Defends Jeremy Doku and Cristiano Ronaldo & Picks His Top Front 3" is an episode of Rio Ferdinand Presents. Runtime 22 min. Published June 21, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.