Cristiano Ronaldo recently named Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez as the only two young Manchester United players who are 'professional' and disciplined.
In his recent interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo was quizzed about which of his teammates he thinks will have a long career. He said (via UnitedStandMUFC):
“Diogo Dalot, he’s young, but he’s very, very, professional. I have no doubt he’s going to have longevity in football. Also, probably Martinez.”
Dalot joined the Red Devils back in 2018 from Porto. He had a slow start in England and was loaned out to AC Milan for the 2020-21 season, where he impressed. He has since made 85 appearances for the Red Devils, including 20 this season across competitions. The Portuguese full-back has slowly established himself as a first-choice right-back at the club.
Martinez, meanwhile, joined Manchester United from Ajax for a transfer fee of almost £57 million this summer. He has since made 21 appearances for the club, including 19 starts.
Martinez has formed a solid defensive partnership at the heart of United's defense with Raphael Varane, helping the club keep nine cleansheets in all competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo names the man whose departure affected Manchester United the most
Cristiano Ronaldo recently named former Manchester United chief executive David Gill as the man whose departure affected the club the most alongside legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Speaking to Piers Morgan, Ronaldo said (via the Manchester Evening News):
“Piers, to be honest, when I signed for Manchester United, I thought everything would have changed because it's 13 years, I was in Real Madrid nine years and three in Juventus. And when I arrived, I thought everything will be different, you know, the technology, the infrastructures and everything. But I was surprised, in a bad way, let's say in that way because I saw everything was the same."
He further added:
“And Manchester it wasn't, in that moment that as you mentioned that Ole was sacked, Michael Carrick he assumed the job for two games. Villareal, and Chelsea away. And everything was so fast, but surprised me a lot, [the] instability in the club. No, they stopped on a clock, in my opinion, which is something that surprised me."
He further added:
“I was surprised. I thought when I signed that they sign in that year Sancho, and Varane, plus me, that things will be in the way that Manchester should be. Sir Alex Ferguson left a big gap in the club, not only Sir Alex Ferguson, one person that I thought made the difference; David Gill, the president, is a very, very good man. And the structure around Sir Alex Ferguson was very important too. So I knew that Manchester United wasn't the same."
While Ronaldo will now head to Qatar for the World Cup, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him once he returns to Manchester.