"Everytime I leave him, I feel more rich" - Manchester United star on experience with Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot has stated that he has learned a lot from Cristiano Ronaldo. He believes that anyone who talks to the Portuguese star comes away with a lot after the conversation.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports' YouTube channel, Dalot claimed that Ronaldo always has time to talk to his teammates on a personal level. He said:
"I learned a lot from him and I know you are close to him as well. Every time I leave him, I feel more rich. I'm not talking about money, no he doesn't give me money. But personal wise, you can leave any space with him and if he is really comfortable with you, you'll leave with something new that you learn."
Diogo Dalot has played 59 matches with Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country. The full-back made his international debut in 2021 and now has 24 caps for his country. Dalot also played alongside Ronaldo during the Portugal captain's second spell at Manchester United. He has assisted the forward just once – in a 3-0 friendly win over Qatar.
Diogo Dalot credited Cristiano Ronaldo for his Manchester United form
Diogo Dalot was in fine form for the Red Devils towards the end of the 2023/24 season and credited Cristiano Ronaldo for it. He stated that he created a routine because of the former Real Madrid star, which helped him get better.
Dalot told Manchester United's official website in May:
"I had the life experience to work with someone who was completely obsessed about it. By being with him so much of the time, that passed on to me. Now it's just something that's just part of me. I think I created this routine where I have to take some time every single day to recover, to work on my mental part as well, my physical part. It's all a routine now."
"It's just trying to work on recovery, nutrition, all kinds of stuff that will make my body feel ready to play. Ultimately, our bodies are our tools; they're what we use to play football. I try to recover as fast as we can when the games are coming really fast. Mentally, obviously, it's been a tough season. And when things are not going well, at this club, everything is bigger. Whether you're winning or losing, everything is bigger, so you need to be really, really prepared mentally, to take all this pressure. To try to come to Carrington every single day to match the standards of the club, which are really high," he added.
Manchester United haven't had the best of starts in the Premier League with just two wins in five matches so far. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr are unbeaten in the Saudi Pro League after four matches, but have also won just twice.