"Had a very positive impact on me" - Manchester United star claims his career has developed due to Cristiano Ronaldo's influence

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo has had a big role to play in his career. Dalot also opened up on his friendship with Ronaldo.

Speaking to A Bola, Dalot praised his compatriot's will to constantly improve. He added that this hunger had rubbed off on him and said:

"Cristiano always seeks to improve. I see myself fitting in with that, and he also noticed my desire to learn and get closer to him to benefit from him. This made our friendship grow and the time we spent together increased, which had a very positive impact on me, and since I knew him my career has developed, and I think that is thanks to his influence."

Dalot and Cristiano Ronaldo have played 59 matches together for club and country. They have combined for just one goal so far and it came in a friendly against Qatar.

Diogo Dalot has always credited Cristiano Ronaldo for his success

Diogo Dalot spoke about his form last season when he was helping Manchester United end the 2023/24 season on a high. He revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo helped him set up a routine and said:

"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 are 13th in the Premier League right now after six matches. Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr have also not started the Saudi Pro League season well and are already four points behind leaders Al Hilal after five matches.