5 famous players who idolise Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the best players in the game's history. In a nearly two-decade-long illustrious career, Ronaldo has scored goals and won trophies galore for club and country.
The 36-year-old is the all-time top scorer in the Champions League and the European Championships. He is also the joint-most prolific scorer in international football and Real Madrid's all-time top scorer.
With over 300 million followers on Instagram, Ronaldo is the most-followed footballer on the social media platform. The Juventus and Portugal striker is also idolized by many in the football fraternity.
On that note, here's a look at five big-name players who idolize Cristiano Ronaldo:
#5 Harry Kane
England and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Englishman, who had a fruitful campaign for eventual finalists England at Euro 2020, asked for Ronaldo's jersey after a Champions League game between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur in 2017.
Kane said after the duo exchanged jerseys:
“I asked for his shirt. He's a big role model of mine, watching him when I was growing up. It's a nice shirt to get and frame. I gave him my shirt. I don't know what he'll do with it.”
Kane has been a prolific scorer for club and country over the years. But with no trophy to show on his resume so far, it remains to be seen if the Englishman will continue to remain at Spurs.
#4 Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt, touted as one of the best young defenders in the game, impressed against Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus in the 2018-19 Champions League quarter-finals.
The then Ajax captain took his team on a fairy-tale run to the last four and were seconds away from making the final before they fell short. A few months later, the Bianconeri landed De Ligt on a big-money move.
In an interview with Dutch magazine VI just before his transfer to Juventus, De Ligt revealed that he had been a fan of Ronaldo since the latter's Manchester United days, saying:
"Recently, when I had dinner with some childhood friends, ee came to the conclusion that I always wanted to be Cristiano Ronaldo when we were playing football in the garden. That was especially in his time when he played at Manchester United."
De Ligt, who has now played two seasons with Ronaldo, continued:
“My first football shirt also belonged to him from that time. That dinner was just after the meetings with Juventus, in which I had to fight duels with the same Ronaldo.”
Both players have been linked with moves away from Turin this summer, but De Ligt and Ronaldo are expected to play at least another season together at Juventus.