5 young players who received praise from Cristiano Ronaldo over the years

#3 Memphis Depay

The Dutchman is running riot at Barcelona right now

In the same interview mentioned earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo highlighted Memphis Depay as one of the top future stars in football. He said:

"The No7 of Manchester (United), (Memphis) Depay, is a good player too."

It's worth noting that Depay was given the no.7 jersey Ronaldo vacated at Manchester United when he left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009. The Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford following a successful spell with PSV Eindhoven. But he couldn't withstand the pressure of the Premier League, as he was just 21 at the time.

Nevertheless, Depay enjoyed a decent spell with Olympique Lyon, whom he joined in 2017. His brilliant performances in the French league earned him a transfer to Barcelona this summer. The attacker is off to a bright start at Camp Nou, having bagged four goals and two assists for the Blaugrana so far this season.

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#2 Andre Silva

The next leader in Portugal's team after Cristiano Ronaldo?

It was a huge honour for Andre Silva when Cristiano Ronaldo identified him as the man to take up the leadership role for Portugal when the latter eventually retires. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner made the observation while speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport in 2017.

Ronaldo was quoted as saying:

"When I retire, Portugal will be in good hands because they have already found a great striker - Andre Silva."

Silva is already proving to be a reliable figure for the national team. The attacker has bagged an impressive 19 goals in 47 games for Portugal since making his debut in September 2016. He is currently firing on all cylinders for RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga, where he has bagged two goals and as many assists in eight matches so far this season.

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#1 Joao Felix

Cristiano Ronaldo has tipped Felix to replicate his success in Spain.

Just a few days after Joao Felix completed his massive €126 million transfer to Atletico Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked in an interview with TVI whether the young forward could emulate his success in La Liga.

Ronaldo responded:

"Can he repeat my successes in Spain? I believe that a lot, because he is an excellent player with a lot of potential who can evolve."

Joao Felix has been nowhere near emulating Ronaldo's exploits in Spain just yet. But it goes without saying that the attacker has had a promising start to life at Atletico Madrid since joining them two years ago.

Felix has bagged 19 goals and nine assists for the Rojiblancos in 81 appearances across competitions. He played a decent role as Diego Simeone's men ran riot on their way to claiming the La Liga title last season. Felix contributed seven goals and six assists.