Portuguese international footballer Cristiano Ronaldo today praised the mentality of Diogo Dalot, a Manchester United teammate and the national team, distinguishing him from the banner of the new generations.
“Who do I admire the most in terms of mental strength? It’s a tough question. For example, if you ask me what I see at Manchester United, I’d probably mention Diogo Dalot. He’s young, but he’s smart and very professional. I don’t doubt that will have longevity in football. We have a few more like [Lisandro] Martínez, Casemiro, who is 30 years old, but I say Diogo Dalot”, confided the captain of the Portuguese team, whose first part of the interview granted to a British television channel was made public today.
In the conversation with the English journalist Piers Morgan, from which various excerpts have been released since Sunday, the 37-year-old forward considered that young athletes “live in another era”, making “what they hear enter one ear and it comes out for the other”. “.
“I see it from my 12-year-old son. The mentality is no longer the same. The difference? It’s hunger. Everything comes easier for them. They don’t suffer and they don’t want to know, but we can.” I do not blame them. It is part of life, of the new generations and of the new technologies that distract them. I am not surprised, but I am ashamed, when they have examples by their side, ”he shot.
Cristiano Ronaldo recalled his first visit to Manchester, between 2003 and 2009, to highlight that “at the age of 18/19 I wanted to learn from the best”, such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs, to be “successful and longevity”.
🇧🇷[Os jovens] they don’t want to know. Some do, but most don’t. They won’t have such long careers. It is impossible. For example, there are athletes of my generation who reach a high level at 36, 37 or 38 years of age. I think that in this generation we will count on the fingers of one hand how many will reach that level. The years of preparation helped a lot, ”he illustrated.
Wanting to “lead by example”, the winner of five Ballon d’Ors (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017) is “proud” of being the most followed public figure on social networks, jokingly comparing himself to ” a fruit that people love”. to bite”.
“It means a lot because people love me. To be honest, not just because I play good football, but the rest is relevant. You have to be charismatic, find a good connection and look good helps.” [risos]🇧🇷 I don’t know the real reason, but I think I’m an appetizing fruit that people want to eat. let’s say strawberry [risos]”, he joked.
Cristiano Ronaldo warned, however, “of having to deal with many obstacles” during his two decades in professional football, especially “when there was low tide”, defending that “the press is rubbish, it does not tell the truth and is constantly lying”.
“It’s easy to criticize me when you want to camouflage other things. The press wanted to put me on the front page, because they knew I would sell more. I got used to living like this. When you’re on the crest of the wave, you don’t realize some things. For that I am grateful have bad moments to see people who are on your side or who criticize you, “he reiterated.
The striker recently felt this “negativity” from former teammates, such as Gary Neville or Wayne Rooney, before the problematic start to the season at Manchester United, three goals in 16 games, 10 of them as a starter, in a total of 1,050 minutes. .
“In the last four or five months, the press criticized me even more. Sometimes I didn’t understand why. Even the Portuguese press criticized me a lot. I think envy is part of that. people who love me and I don’t waste time with those who don’t like me. I like being around people who adore me,” she added.
By contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo used to have Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane by his side, referring to the former England defender “always helping him” while the former Irish midfielder was “the best captain of all time” but not wanting to praise Ronaldo. both “because they speak well”. ” themselves.
“It’s easy to criticize if you’re not there. When you’re working on television, you have to criticize to be more famous. They take advantage, because they are not stupid. with you in the locker room criticizing you like that, but I’m not going to sleep badly because of the criticism. That’s not good. It’s a bit disappointing,” she concluded.
Source: TSF
