Yahoo Finance Rio Ferdinand hits out at Mason Mount critics: ‘It is because he is not an Instagram-friendly player’
Rio Ferdinand has hit out at critics of Mason Mount and says the reason the midfielder gets so much stick on social media is because he is not an “an Instagram-friendly player”.
Mount is often the target of criticism online despite becoming a crucial player for Chelsea and England with some brilliant displays this season.
But Ferdinand is a big fan of Mount and has a theory on why he gets abuse.
Asked why Mount is criticised so much online, BT Sport pundit Ferdinand said: “Because he is not an Instagram-friendly player.
“He is not someone who does loads of stepovers, loads of skills and flicks it over heads, and has a showreel on Instagram where people go, ‘Wow, he is unbelievable’.
“This guy is about output, about influencing games, about taking a game by the scruff of the neck at the critical moment. What he has done for Chelsea, under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel, he has been their most impressive player.
“And he is someone who will continue to grow. He relishes being under the spotlight. Whether it is the wrong reasons or the right reasons, he wants to be involved.
“If we are talking about England, he starts. Where you play him, you can sort that out Gareth.”
Joe Cole believes Gareth Southgate is ready to build his England midfielder around Mount.
Cole told BT Sport: “I think it is not even a question now [about whether he starts for England]. I think Gareth is just thinking he is in the team and who do I put around him.
“What he does, the difference between him and the other guys of his ilk, the James Maddisons and the Jack Grealishs, is he can play deeper but he also has that bit of magic like they have as well.
“He is so well-schooled. I trained with him when I was coming back from America and I knew from the first moment I saw him that he was sensational.”
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