Rasmus Hojlund names Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and ex-Manchester United striker as players he models his game around
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund recently claimed that he learns from and tries to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, and Robert Lewandowski's playing styles.
The Red Devils secured Hojlund's services from Atalanta last summer for a reported £72 million (including add-ons). The Danish striker initially struggled to find the net in the Premier League before a good run of form at the beginning of 2024.
Hojlund registered seven goals and two assists before getting sidelined due to a muscle injury. He had a productive campaign in the UEFA Champions League group stages, scoring five goals before Manchester United crashed out of Europe.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Hojlund was asked which player he models his game on. The Denmark international first named Barcelona's Lewandowski, before picking his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea loanee Lukaku.
Hojlund said (via United Zone on X):
"Lewandowski a lot. Cristiano of course he’s my idol. And Romelu Lukaku. I take from every part of their game. Rom is good with his back to ball. Lewandowski and Cristiano are great with their movement in the box."
Cristiano Ronaldo has been in excellent goal-scoring form for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, racking up 36 goals and 12 assists across competitions. Lukaku, on loan at AS Roma, has netted 18 times for the Serie A outfit.
Meanwhile, Lewandowski has registered 20 goals and nine assists in 43 games for Barcelona this season.
"He's like a bulldog" - Rasmus Hojlund picks Manchester United legend ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as dream strike partner
While he admitted Cristiano Ronaldo was his idol, Hojlund surprisingly picked Wayne Rooney as his dream strike partner ahead of the Portuguese superstar.
Rooney, an Everton academy graduate, spent the majority of his playing career at Old Trafford and established himself as a footballing icon at the club. The former Manchester United striker won five Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup, and four League Cups, amongst other trophies.
He registered 559 appearances during his playing career for Manchester United, scoring 253 goals and providing 143 assists. When asked which former United player he'd have loved to play alongside, Hojlund said (via The Mirror):
"I think I would take Wayne to be fair because he's like a bulldog. He likes to work and he would do a massive job for me. He's selfish but he wants to make you better and he wants to score goals as well."
"I think we could have a nice partnership together, especially with his size as well. He could drop deep and I could maybe make the deeper runs as well."
"You never know, I've not played with him but I hope we would score many."