Rio Ferdinand has criticised the PFA Player of the Year voting system and believes that the ballots should be cast a lot later on in the season.

The votes were made back in February, meaning that they are decided with a third of the season still left to play.

Ferdinand feels that had they been completed at the end of the campaign, his teammate Robin van Persie would have won the award over Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale.

"I am not just being biased but if it was voted for today Robin van Persie would win it by a country mile," Ferdinand told Sky Sports News.

"The problem with the PFA awards is that the voting system is flawed. There's so much technology at hand that you could do it over an iPad and just say 'bang, bang, bang' at the end of the season."

Van Persie currently tops the Premier League scoring charts with 25 goals, but went 10 games without a goal around the time the votes were made.