Liverpool forward Diogo Jota opens up on his ‘favorite moment’ with Cristiano Ronaldo, shares incident from match where he was benched

Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota has shared his favorite moment with international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. The versatile attacker has played 30 times alongside arguably the greatest footballer ever produced by Portugal.

While Jota and Ronaldo have played alongside each other up front for Portugal in recent years, the former's favorite moment with the iconic forward dates back to 2019. The 28-year-old has named Ronaldo's hat-trick against Switzerland in the Nations League semi-final in 2019 as his favorite memory alongside Ronaldo.

Jota was an unused substitute for Portugal in that game as Ronaldo guided Fernando Santos' side to a 3-0 victory. They went on to win the Nations League in 2019 with a 1-0 win against the Netherlands in the final with Goncalo Guedes scoring the winner.

Speaking of his favorite moment with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Liverpool forward said, as quoted by Tribuna:

"My favorite moment with Cristiano? When he led us to the NL final, he scored a hat-trick in the match against Switzerland. This was a moment when I was a child, I watched you, and now I watch you and I'm on your team."

Cristiano Ronaldo has earned 216 caps for Portugal over the years and has scored 135 times while providing 45 assists. He is also the most capped player at the international level while also holding the record for most international goals.

Diogo Jota, on the other hand, has 46 caps for Portugal and has contributed with 14 goals and 11 assists. The Liverpool attacker has seven joint goal participations with Ronaldo in 30 appearances.

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William Gallas opens up on Cristiano Ronaldo's most complete player remark

Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender William Gallas has backed Cristiano Ronaldo's admission of being the most complete player of all time. The former France international played 13 times against Ronaldo for club and country and hailed the Portuguese superstar's immense dedication.

Gallas insisted that Lionel Messi is more naturally gifted, but Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the plaudits for working his way to the very top. He said, as quoted by Primecasino:

"After he called himself the most complete player in the game’s history, people will say, ‘He's an arrogant guy,’ but look what he did, he's just unbelievable. He still scores goals. At 40 years old, he still scores goals even in the national team. Okay, people are complaining, he plays in Saudi Arabia, but in the national team he still scores. You just have to give him credit and he has earned that credit."

The Frenchman added:

"I think he is the most complete player to play the game. Over the long term, yes, he’s the most complete footballer. To have that winning mentality and working that hard every day, even now, that dedication. It should be applauded by everyone. The first at the training, the last to leave the training, all that."

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated the game for almost two decades and won a combined 13 Ballon d'Or awards.