Diogo Dalot, a player from Cristiano Ronaldo's home country of Portugal, is one of the Manchester United players that Ronaldo admires.
Ronaldo is currently representing Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, where he is joined by his teammates Dalot and Bruno Fernandes from United. Fernando Santos' squad also includes Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first segment of Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan for talkTV aired on Wednesday night, and in it, Morgan inquired as to which players in the world of football Ronaldo considers to be his role models.
Instead of concentrating on himself, Ronaldo chose to talk about his teammates at club: "I can mention Dalot as a player for Manchester United; he is young but very professional, and although he is young, he is smart and intelligent, and he is very professional. I have no doubt that he will have a long career in football, despite the fact that he is young. Most likely [Lisandro] Martinez, but I'm going to go with Dalot because Casemiro is in his 30s."
This response was in response to Ronaldo's criticism of young players in today's game, in which he suggested that young players lack the same level of discipline that he possessed when he was a rising young talent.
He made the following statement: "Every league in the world, the youngest players, they are not the same as my generation." But we can't hold it against them because, well, you know, that's just how life is. Because of the new generation and the new technologies, which divert their attention to something else,... On the other hand, they are not the same. They hear what you say, but the reason we have two ears is so that we can hear what you say with one ear while they hear what you say with the other.
"It doesn't surprise me. But on the other hand, it is a shame because if they have the best examples in front of their eyes, and if they don't at least copy what you did, it is kind of weird for me, because I remember when I was 18, 19, and 20 years old, I always looked to see the best players in Van Nistelrooy, Ferdinand, Roy Keane, and Giggs - this is why I have the success that I have and longevity that I have. Because I observe these individuals and gain wisdom from them, I make it a priority to take care of my body, my state of mind, and my head.
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