“He doesn’t see the others, he’d say: ‘I need to be better than me’” – Pogba offers interesting insight into Cristiano Ronaldo mentality amid Manchester United controversy

Paul Pogba offered an interesting insight into Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality and attitude amid controversy surrounding the Manchester United forward's explosive interview.

Pogba shared the dressing room with Ronaldo for a year with United before returning to Juventus during this summer transfer window. He said that players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo are the ultimate professionals.

Speaking to Wahed on the Muslim Money Guys by Wahed podcast, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner said (via Daily Mail):

"I see professional football players – like Zlatan – a lot of players are very professional, they come early, they do all their recovery and stuff like that. But someone that’s been there every single day and doesn’t stop. That’s Cristiano."

Pogba added that he was often left spellbound by Ronaldo's insane level of motivation. The Frenchman said:

"It’s just his personality, he’s a winner, that’s for sure. He wants to always be right, he’s never satisfied with what he’s done, he always wants more. He always says: “I can do more. I will do more”. His motivation is crazy. What I saw for a year when I was with him, every day is a new record, a new challenge for him… he’s challenging himself. He doesn’t’ see the others, he’d say: “I need to be better than me.”

The former Manchester United player will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury as France look to defend their status as the world champions in Qatar. Ronaldo, meanwhile, is Portugal's captain and and will hope for a successful campaign.

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Paul Pogba claims Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in history

Manchester United v Atalanta: Group F - UEFA Champions League

Paul Pogba was left stunned by Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur last season. The midfielder termed Ronaldo as the best in history. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said (via GOAL):

"We hurt them at the right times and Ronaldo did what he does best, He has never been a problem. You have the best striker in history in our team, he cannot be a problem. Today the performance from him and all the team was very brilliant."

He further told Sky Sports:

“Everybody knows Cristiano – there’s no need to talk about him. That’s what he does. He didn’t play in the last game, but he comes back and scores three goals. Everybody’s happy."

Ronaldo had a very fruitful 2021-22 season with United. He bagged 24 goals and three assists in 38 games across competitions and was the club's top scorer last term.